


Saving Nezzy

by BlueRaith



Series: Saving Nezzy [1]
Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-11-18
Updated: 2015-11-26
Packaged: 2018-01-01 22:34:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 73,559
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1049349
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlueRaith/pseuds/BlueRaith
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>During the confrontation on Noveria, Matriarch Benezia is prevented from killing Liara by a timely Charge from Aethyta. As it turns out, Aethyta had never stopped keeping an eye on Liara and Benezia after the latter walked out. Benezia’s insane actions have concerned and infuriated Aethyta enough to forcefully intervene with Benezia’s seemingly random spiral into insanity.</p>
<p>Now poor Liara has to deal with having an overprotective Aethyta interfering with her life. Femshep has the unfortunate luck of refereeing her ‘almost but not quite’ girlfriend’s parents’ marital spats. Benezia is fighting the terrible influence of indoctrination while trying to deal with the fallout of her bonding with Aethyta that still lingers to this day. Aethyta is… well, Aethyta.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a prompt from the Mass Effect Kinkmeme I decided to fill. I was searching for Aethyta/Benezia fills when I came across it. The premise is something I've been thinking about for some time, but I wasn't sure how to make it work. Along comes this OP who gave me a way with this awesome prompt and I'm very appreciative. Updates here will happen on a regular, likely weekly basis, as my first priority will be the kinkmeme. For AO3, I'm going to post the 4 chapters already up on FFN, then move to weekly. :D
> 
> Original request here:
> 
> The battle against Benezia on Noveria takes a surprising end turn when the matriarch is slammed unconscious by a biotic charge so powerful it could have made a krogan wince, right in front of FemShep and Liara. Turns out Aethyta cared enough to spy on, and interfere in Benezia's downward spiral into indoctrination and has decided that enough is enough. She takes Benezia into custody/locks her up/kidnaps her to her private mansion for rehabilitation/whatever-floats.
> 
> \- A different spin on how Liara got to meet her other parent.
> 
> \- Runs parallel with the story of ME1, but now leaving Liara a very befuddled young asari with two parents.
> 
> \- Huge plus if Aethyta and Benezia have huge arguments over the whats and hows of child-rearing in front of Liara.
> 
> \- Liara, for the first time in her life, gets to see someone rile her mother up.
> 
> -Up to the author how long you want to go with the story. I'm kinda happy with just ME1.

Her tits felt like they were going to freeze off. As a former spy for the asari government, Aethyta had been to many strange places over the course of her long life. Hell, forget spying. Oftentimes she would simply wake up in a Goddess forsaken place after a night of heavy drinking. She never liked the cold places, however and she was pissed that her former bondmate just had to pick one of the coldest habitated planets in the galaxy to go ass-fuck crazy.

Hell yeah, she knew about Nezzy and her turian boyfriend’s drop into the deep end. Well, the turian had always been crazy, but this was too much, even for him. Nezzy may have left her over a century ago, and she may have agreed to the separation by not going after her, but that had never meant she had to stop watching over her girl, and soon after girls. Her ex-bondmate was brilliant, she had always known that, but there were times when Nezzy would get too excited, get too caught up in her damn cooperation mantras and sharing shit for the good of the galaxy.

Only, this didn’t make any fucking sense. Her Benezia would have never attacked a human colony, dumbasses though they were, she would have tried to talk some sense into the brainless idiots. Not go along with a psychopathic turian Spectre to slaughter the hapless species. The geth was a whole other issue she planned to bring up with Nezzy. Oh, yes, she planned on confronting the other matriarch. She kept her tongue when it became obvious that Nezzy didn’t want her to make contact with Liara, she kept her silence when Benezia spoke out against Aethyta’s ideas to fight and build for themselves, despite their past conversations over both their philosophies, on her last day in the Forum. Those had been hard enough, but damn it all if she was going to sit silent and watch her former lover make a damn fool out of herself at the order of some damn Spectre.

So she had followed her here to this Athame forsaken icicle after the agent she had watching her ex-bondmate and daughter had reported the very worrying, and yeah, horrifying actions taken by her ex-lover in the past few months. It was fortunate that Nezzy had first invested in Binary Helix while they were still bonded. Otherwise, she likely would not have thought to check for Benezia here so quickly. Hopefully the stubborn asari would speak with her, but she was prepared for anything. The reports of the Spectre having fucking geth at his beck and call of all things made her nervous, not that she’d ever admit it. Who the hell knows how they would react to her showing up like this. She called her favors and had a group of Eclipse girls freezing their nipples off right alongside her in their Grizzly as they slowly made their way up Peak 15.

* * *

It was cold in the facility; entirely different than her experience on Therum, hot and arid as it had been. Though, Liara had to admit that she actually preferred the hot planet to this place. She wasn’t particularly fond of the cold, and there was the added horror of the rachni and geth and fighting her mother and acolytes. No, she much preferred Therum.

She, Shepard and Tali had finally put down the last of her mother’s forces and had her cornered. As cornered as a Matriarch could be at any rate. She had told Shepard once, in their awkward conversations, that her mother was a very accomplished biotic. She hoped the commander remembered. She fiercely hoped that this wasn’t actually happening. As much as she truly enjoyed meeting the commander, she did not relish the thought of her mother as a traitor. None of Benezia’s actions made any sense in these past few months. She had not spoken with her mother in several years, but she struggled to think of why or even how Benezia could change so much in such a short time for their species.

Her mother had always believed in cooperation and negotiation with other species. Liara could not think of any reason why Benezia would ever ally herself with the anti-human Saren. They had utterly different ideals and the ruthlessness of the attack on Eden Prime was beyond the Benezia that she knew. Something changed.

“This is not over. Saren is unstoppable. My mind is filled with his light. Everything is clear.”

The Matriarch’s words made her feel ill. Never had she heard her mother speak this way. Cold, unfeeling and against the teachings she had always abided by. She did not understand why Benezia seemed to have aligned herself with Saren so completely and she _desperately_ wished to know.

“The rachni didn’t cooperate with you. Why should I?”

The commander was perhaps the most confident person Liara had ever met. Never had she witnessed anyone stand up to the Matriarch as Shepard had. Her mother never inspired fear, though the way Shepard was currently smirking at Benezia in challenge was something completely foreign to Liara’s knowledge of Benezia’s interactions with others.

“I will not betray him. You will—You…,” Benezia grasped at her head for a moment before straitening again. When she did, her eyes were much cleared and much more familiar to Liara than the cold, hard gaze she had before. “You must listen. Saren still whispers in my mind. I can fight his compulsions. Briefly. But the indoctrination is strong.”

Shepard's eyes narrowed. “Why are you able to break free of his control now?”

Liara firmly agreed with Shepard’s implication. Despite wanting to believe her mother was in fact being controlled by Saren and not aligned with him, it seemed difficult to believe. Though, Shiala had told them that Benezia had been swept away by Saren’s influence that she had actually wanted to help him off the path he was taking. It was just so difficult for her to believe that her mother had failed to sway him, that she instead had been corrupted and her powerful will trumped by Saren’s. She had never known that to happen.

“I sealed away a part of my mind from the indoctrination. Saving it for a moment when I could help destroy him. It will not last long.”

“So you could turn on me again?”

Her mother sighed, “Yes. But it would not be my will, Shepard.

“People are not themselves around Saren. You come to idolize him. Worship him. You would do anything for him. The key is Sovereign, his flagship. It is a dreadnought of incredible size and its power is extraordinary. The longer you stay aboard, the more Saren’s will seems correct. You sit at his feet and smile as his words pour into you. It is subtle at first. I thought I was strong enough to resist. Instead, I became a willing tool, eager to serve.

“He sent me here to find the location of the Mu Relay. Its position was lost thousands of years ago.”

Finally, Liara saw her mother instead of whatever it was that she had been acting as. This Benezia was far more earnest and less cold than the Benezia that had attacked them. Attacked her. She watched as Shepard spoke with her about the Mu Relay and could see the regret and sorrow of her actions.

“I took the relay’s location from the queen’s mind. I was not gentle.” Deep regret had bled into her mother's tone and if Liara had doubted that she had been under some sort of mind control, she didn't now. The Benezia she had known would never have invaded the mind of another willingly.

“You can still make it right,” Shepard told her firmly. “Give me the information.”

“I was not myself, but—I should have been stronger. I transcribed the data to an OSD. Take it. Please,” Benezia very nearly begged.

Liara found her voice. She had been satisfied with letting the commander handle the confrontation as she found she could not force herself to speak to her mother while she was acting so cold and brutal. Not after her first attempt had led to the Matriarch attacking them. Confrontations had never been her strong suit. Speaking to people in general had always ended up with her embarrassing herself as she did with Shepard when the human had come to the medbay to check on her. But now that Benezia seemed to break control of Saren, Liara was far more confident in speaking with the Benezia she remembered.

“Knowing the relay’s coordinates is not enough. Do you know where he planned to go from there?”

Her mother looked even more regretful at her question.

“Saren wouldn’t tell me his destination. But you must find out quickly. I transmitted the coordinates to him before you arrived. You have to stop—me. I can’t—His teeth are at my ear. Fingers on my spine. You should—Uh, you should—“

Horror filled Liara as she watched the truth of Benezia’s claims of indoctrination come true before her. It was easy to listen to her mother claim that she was not in control of her own actions, but watching it unfold in front of her, watching her previously gentle, wise mother struggle for control broke her heart. Her mother was disappearing before her eyes.

The sheer desperation Liara felt at that moment painted her voice, “Mother, I—Don’t leave! Fight him!”

Benezia turned to face her. Sorrow and pain laced throughout her very being.

“You’ve always made me proud, Liara.”

Liara’s heart dropped at her words and the clear farewell within them.

The Matriarch then turned away from them and went rigid. As if the Benezia that had been so open with them had never been. When she faced them again, it was the cold, unfeeling and deadly Matriarch capable of killing her own child challenging them again.

“—Die!”

Reluctantly, Liara slowly brought up her pistol as her mother began to glow with biotic power. Tears threatened to fill her vision as she realized that whatever her mother had now turned into was perfectly willing to destroy her as well as Shepard and Tali to serve her master, Saren. If they wanted to get out alive, they were going to have to kill her mother.

Benezia raised her arm in preparation for a biotic attack, and while Shepard and Tali had begun to open fire into her Barrier, Liara stood frozen. Benezia was looking into her eyes; the attack was going to be meant for her. Time slowed as her mother started the physical movement for a Throw, one destined to be extremely powerful given her mother’s extraordinary talent and mastery of her biotics. Shepard then noticed the Matriarch’s attention as well and moved towards Liara’s position. She wasn’t going to make it to Liara in time, however, and the scientist prepared herself for the impact.

It never came.

The sound of a powerful biotic discharge surprised them all, including Benezia; especially when the source of the discharge barreled into the Matriarch at phenomenal speed. Benezia was slammed into the corner of the rachni queen’s tank with a deafening crash and the form of another asari appeared in the wake of the biotic charge to the utter shock of those still conscious.

“Nezzy! What the _fuck_ is wrong with you?!”


	2. Chapter 2

Aethyta was pissed. Even more so than when she and the Eclipse girls finally got up that damn mountain and fought their way through the fucking bugs. That was a pain in the ass if she ever experienced one. She was dealing with panicking kids and having to remember her dad’s old war stories in order to figure out the best way to put down _fucking rachni_ as they made their way to the rails. When they made it to the Binary Helix facility it was a damn slaughterhouse. Knowing that Nezzy was likely behind it all pissed her off more than the rachni. She was going to _demand_ answers when she saw her. Enough was enough; she was damn tired of hearing reports of ruthlessness and brutality from her network. Her Nezzy wasn’t like that, and if she had to remind her of that fact, forcefully if need be, then damn straight she was going to.

The fact that Liara was there just threw her for a loop. The kid was supposed to be digging in the dirt for old Prothean shit, not suited up in combat armor in the company of some random ass human and quarian. What the hell was going on? She would have voiced the question, had she the opportunity. Unfortunately, she had arrived just in time to witness Nezzy light up and move to attack their kid. Fuck it all, like she was going to allow that to happen. Aethyta could remember just how powerful Benezia was. If their fool kid thought she could withstand a Throw from Nezzy, well. It was a damn good thing she knew how to simply _react_.

She hadn’t meant for the Charge to be quite so potent; Nezzy was out for the count the second she hit the tank. Which held a fucking gigantic bug. Fuck. What the fuck was going on? Saren, geth, rachni, trying to kill the kid….

“Nezzy! What the _fuck_ is wrong with you?!” She practically roared at her unconscious ex. Fury was describing the shit mood she was in lightly.

She moved to get closer to her former bondmate when she was slammed against the tank herself.

“Leave her alone!”

Shit. The kid didn’t know her from a hole in the ground. The Eclipse girls didn’t know the kid either. She could deal with Benezia and her attempt to _murder the kid_ later.

“Hey! You girls hold your fire. Anyone that shoots the kid gets her ass kicked.”

No, she didn’t climb this Athame forsaken mountain just to lose her daughter while saving the ex-bondmate. Unfortunately, Liara wasn’t on the same page, and neither were her companions. The human and quarian were eyeing her mercs suspiciously, and thank the Goddess the girls had the sense to stay where they were at the door; Liara had her pistol pointing right at her.

“Tali, watch them. Liara, back up a bit. Who are you?”

So the human was running the show. Aethyta had first thought that perhaps Liara had caught wind of her mother’s activities herself, but it seemed that everything was a little more fucked up than she thought.

“Name’s Aethyta and I’m the one saving your asses from Nezzy over there.”

Liara actually seemed to back off a little, probably more surprised at the nickname than anything else. Just how many people called her mother Nezzy since she was born? Hopefully no one. “Nezzy? Do you know my mother?”

Aethyta sighed heavily, and she realized that all of this shit was actually making her tired. She was getting too old for this crap and she found herself wishing things were _a lot_ different than they were. It wasn't something she allowed herself to think often, not like wishing ever got anything worth something done. “Yeah, kid. I know your mom. Shit, I thought I did at any rate. I came here to knock some sense into her, looks like I did.” Nezzy was sporting a rapidly swelling knot on her fool head, after all.

The human was really eying her. Like she hadn’t ever seen a matriarch in combat leathers before.

“What are you looking at? Who the hell are you anyway?”

“I’m Commander Shepard. The Council sent me to stop Saren. We were hoping Benezia would know where he was.”

Damn. She should have known that. The Council had appointed the first human Spectre a few weeks ago. Hopefully this one wasn’t as dumb as some of the humans she got in her bar.

“Shepard, I’m going to be straight with you. I don’t give a damn about Saren. You can worry about him. I came here to find out what the hell Nezzy has been getting up to, and I’m going to leave with her. I need some answers from her.”

The kid fired right back up, “Leave with her? Who do you think you are? My mother needs medical attention, not a mercenary taking her Goddess knows where!”

The kid was supposed to be shy. Yet, here she was, lit up and pissed. She looked just like Nezzy.

Aethyta knew she was smart like Nezzy too. There was no way she was going to let some seemingly random matriarch cart off her mom without demanding some answers. Answers that now had to come out no matter what Nezzy wanted.

“Kid, this isn’t how I would have wanted this to go. Not with your mom all fucked up and shit. Hell, this isn’t how Nezzy would have wanted this to go either a few years ago. Now I’m not so sure. Anyway, when Nezzy left me, I was at least going to keep some tabs on both of you to make sure you were okay. You aren’t, so I decided to do something about it.” And what a fucking coward she was. She couldn't even come right out and say it. For all her pride in keeping her words and intentions straight, Aethyta knew she was having a harder time admitting to the kid exactly who she was to her than she would have thought. Though, maybe that wasn't so true, it wasn't as if she'd prepared for this shit. Nezzy should have explained all this crap to Liara a _long_ time ago.

Still, she could see the kid thinking about what she just said. Could see the little wheels in her head going over what she meant. Aethyta felt sorry for the kid. She knew what it was like to realize that everything about her life was turned over. Nezzy going crazy, getting attacked by Nezzy, meeting her dad while said father attacked her mother in front of her. At least they weren’t going to kill each other. No, that was the _last_ thing that was going to happen.

“Wait, are you saying….”

“That I’m your dad?” Fuck, she wasn't going to force _Liara_ of all people to say it before she fucking did. This wasn't the kid's fault, nerves weren't going to finally get the best of her after a fucking thousand years of living. “Yeah, that’s exactly what I’m saying.”

“I—You’re….” Kid looked blindsided and that would probably make sense. Athame's sacred tits, who expected to meet their long lost dad on a fucking snow covered mountain surrounded by dead bugs that should have been extinct, geth that should have been behind the Veil, and their mother's unconscious body, who _shouldn't have been_ trying to murder them? Fuck, what the hell was Nezzy thinking? Oh, she and Benezia T'Soni were going to have _words_ later.

No, Aethyta definitely couldn’t blame the kid for getting upset. She was actually wondering when this crap was going to be too much for her. Yet here she was weathering all the punches being thrown at her like a krogan.

“You’re Liara’s father?” The human asked, like she was too dumb to keep up. Aethyta didn't know if she was more irritated with her for asking her to repeat something she just said, or for butting in to their moment.

“That’s what I just said, isn’t it?”

“Sorry,” Shepard almost looked like she regretted the interruption, but not quite. “Look, you can’t take Benezia. Liara’s right, she needs medical attention and no offense, but I know mercenaries don’t usually have the best medical care.”

“Shit, Shepard, I’m not actually a mercenary. At least I haven’t been for several centuries. The girls are just a few favors I called in. Besides, it’s a knock on the head. I don’t know if Nezzy have ever told you about some of her maiden days, Liara, but she’s taken worse.”

“Matriarch—“ Shepard started, but Aethyta wasn't about to let that annoying habit stick.

“Aethyta.”

“Aethyta, it’s not the concussion I’m worried about. Benezia’s been through what she called indoctrination. She’s not under her own control; Saren has been making her do everything.”

Just who in the hell was Liara hanging around with here? Indoctrination? Sounded a lot like mind control to Aethyta and mind control sounded even more like an awful lot amount of bullshit.

“What are you talking about?” She snapped irritably. Aethyta had an ex to interrogate and Shepard was wasting her time.

Liara was quick to defend the human. “Mother never set out to join Saren in attacking the humans. She wanted to lead him away from the path he was on. Instead she was indoctrinated by the ship Saren uses. It’s not of any known design. He found it and once you follow him onto it, apparently it strips you of your will and forces you to obey his.”

Great, _this_ was why Liara was hanging around this dickbag. Mind control was a nice way to spiral into denial. What kid actually wanted to believe their mother was a fucking traitor? Aethyta had done her fair share of shady shit in her days, but nothing like this and the kid was no doubt struggling in trying to make sense of Nezzy's fucked up actions. Well, if this human wasn't going to give the kid the kick she needed back to reality, then she would. It would be crueler not to; it wasn't like the truth wasn't going to come out and by that time, the false hope Liara was clinging to would only sting more.

“Liara, I can see you wanting to find a way to not blame your mom, but that sounds like a load of crap. It’s not like I want to believe she would do any of the shit Saren’s been up to either, but you know Nezzy. Hell, she’s the most stubborn asari _I_ know.”

The quarian finally jumped into the conversation.

“We all saw her, Matri—Aethyta. She was really regretful of everything Saren made her do after she broke control of whatever it was that held her. She even helped us and gave the commander the information Saren had her find.”

“We can take her to the Normandy,” Shepard insisted before Aethyta could properly tear into the two of these fools for leading the kid along. “My medical officer is good at her job and is familiar with asari biology. I also have a brig we can put her in for now for everyone’s safety. That has to be more than what you have for her, mercenary or not.”

Shepard's words ended up stopping her short, she knew just how powerful Benezia was. There wasn't going to be much of a chance her Eclipse girls could hold a candle to Nezzy's biotics and she could outfight Aethyta if she wanted to as well, but Aethyta wasn’t thrilled at the idea of trusting the human. She’s a Spectre and whether she liked it or not, Benezia went and betrayed the Council. For all she knew, Shepard could release her over to the Council or asari government as soon as her back was turned. Aethyta had never planned to turn Nezzy in, after all.

“Shepard, I don’t know you from a hole in the ground. Tell me exactly why I should let a Spectre take my bondmate into custody seeing as she’s pretty much a damn enemy of the state.”

The kid looked at her in surprise.

“You aren’t here to take her to the Matriarchs?”

Just who was the kid taking her for? “Shit no. Those windbags would throw her to the humans in some bullshit cooperation effort to avoid reparations without even listening to her.”

“Then what do you plan to do with Mother?”

Aethyta honestly hadn’t thought much on the subject. All she really wanted was to get to Nezzy to begin with then go from there. Probably take her back to asari space and away from the damn turian to get rid of temptation.

“I got a lot of safe houses, kid. Comes with being a spy for the Matriarchy. Not even they know all of my little hideouts.”

This seemed to be the last Liara could take, though. Poor kid looked more confused than she deserved to. “No. I—you claim that you are my father, yet how do I know you aren’t merely claiming that to get custody of Benezia? You really could be here at the order of the Matriarchs.”

Yeah, Liara was smart. With Nezzy out, she had no way to prove what she was saying to the kid and without that, she could not see Shepard just handing over Nezzy. Damn. They really had one up on her without truly realizing it. Aethyta would never tell her mercs to fire on them for Nezzy. She sure as hell wasn’t going to take a chance on hurting the kid. She had superior numbers, but Shepard had one of the two things in the galaxy on her side that she’d never fight. Well, one now actually, she'd just laid Nezzy out.

But that didn’t mean she had to let them in on that.

“We could stand around and wait for Nezzy to wake up. Though, if she really was under some mind control crap, that probably wouldn’t be a good thing. I got the drop on her this time, but Nezzy could kick my ass if she really wanted to.” Not that she believed in the mind control. Fuck that was the stupidest thing she'd ever heard in a while, but she was probably going to have to pick her battles for now, starting with the issue of Nezzy's custody.

“Aethyta, the Council has no idea how long my missions run. I don’t have to file a report for them until we figure everything out. That would give you a chance to talk with Benezia on the Normandy. And settle everything with Liara,” Shepard was trying to persuade her, and Aethyta could tell she was going to be fucking stubborn about it.

She was fooling herself. This was probably the best outcome she could expect from all this crap. Nezzy had really gotten herself in some deep shit. If she did take Nezzy away from here, what could they really expect to do? Sure, they were old and could probably slip under the Matriarchy’s radar until they died, but where would that leave the kid? Once again, Aethyta found herself pissed off.

Letting Shepard take Nezzy still brought her back to the same thing she was worried about as far as the Council was concerned. Tevos may as well call herself the Matriarchy’s bitch. She did whatever they told her to and Aethyta knew what they would tell Tevos. The humans would bitch that they needed to handle Nezzy on their end and her people would bend over backwards to make it happen. That’s what they did. They were only concerned with keeping everyone _else_ happy. Pussies.

But you couldn’t make everyone happy with every situation. No, sometimes secrets just had a way of coming out. Secrets that would piss people off even more than a Matriarch helping a Spectre attack a human colony.

“Shepard,” Aethyta started carefully, the beginnings of a crazy, but hopefully effective, plan stirring in her head, “if I let you take Nezzy to your ship, I want to talk to Tevos first. We’ve got some things to straighten out.”

“Like what?” Shepard asked, obviously suspicious but still curious despite herself.

“I’ve lived for a long time, Shepard. I know some shit that the Matriarchs would hate to get out. I’m not going to let them fuck Nezzy over. I don’t care what she’s done as far as that’s concerned. I want some damn answers from her, but I’m going to make sure she gets out of this.” Yeah, she wasn't going to feed Nezzy to those rabid fools. She hated what Nezzy had done, but fuck if Aethyta couldn't abandon her now. She _wasn't_ Nezzy.

The kid looked outright stunned. “But you believe Mother helped attacked Eden Prime and you haven’t even seen the evidence for her indoctrination! You would anger the Matriarchy like that? Would it even work?”

“Kid, we didn’t break up because we didn’t care about each other. As for the other Matriarchs, we don’t like each other to begin with. I don’t give a damn about their feelings. Shepard, let’s get the hell off this mountain so I can fix this shit.” Goddess only knew she was probably the only fucking person who could.


	3. Chapter 3

Liara needed time to decompress. Everything… was different to say the least. She had first accompanied Shepard both in the hopes of finding out what Benezia was up to and for protection from Saren. She’d accomplished one of her goals at least and the outcome was far more strange, and yes, upsetting than she was expecting. So, as soon as she learned from Dr. Chakwas that physically Benezia was fine, albeit with a nasty bump on the head, she hid in the medbay’s storeroom.

Her mother was under some sort of mind control. Indoctrination, she had named it. That was so extraordinarily difficult to believe, yet she had seen it for her own eyes. A part of her wished that she had not, despite the realization that Benezia was innocent. It was one of the most painful sights she would likely have. The ruthlessness on her mother’s features where only warmth had been before. The fact that Benezia would have probably killed her had Matriarch Aethyta not intervened.

The asari claiming to be her other parent was perhaps the most surreal detail in all of this. Liara had never met any asari quite like her. Crass, brash, foul mouthed and violent. She could never see Benezia with someone as, to be quite honest, distasteful as Aethyta. Yet it was obvious just how determined Aethyta was to help her mother. She wanted to call the other Matriarch a liar and believe that she was only looking to take advantage of Liara in order gain custody of Benezia. That would have been easy to believe. Only she knew that wasn’t the truth, despite letting Aethyta think that Liara believed she was being dishonest. She just didn’t know how to begin to make sense of the revelation that Aethyta gave her. Honestly, she felt a bit guilty over letting her… father believe that. Goddess, what was she supposed to think about this?

“Liara?”

Liara was surprised, yet not to hear that the commander had come to check on her again. She kept meeting types of people she had never come across before since leaving Therum. It could be exhausting, but also exciting. Shepard truly escaped her understanding at times. Since joining the Normandy, the human Spectre had requested her to accompany her ground teams and she had the opportunity to see Shepard act in a variety of situations. The commander could be infinitely patient with civilians’ problems; she could be kind and easy to talk to. It was something she was already familiar with in the medbay when Shepard would speak with her. Though without the flirting. At least she believed the human was flirting with her. She wasn’t completely sure and she wasn’t exactly good at that sort of interaction.

Shepard could also be hard and, yes, brutal with others. Typically she would take this attitude with mercenaries or rogue scientists. It seemed the commander hated to see harm done to others and she reacted with swift and sometimes merciless justice. Shepard called it an eye for an eye in her language. To be honest, Liara found the commander’s actions exhilarating. Shepard was so up front and frank with her words and actions that Liara found it hard to find fault with the Spectre the few times she had taken matters into her own hands. She made it clear she cared for others in every action she took. Even the less than savory ones.

“Shepard, have you come to check on me?” She was somewhat breathless, surprised that she hadn't heard the commander come in and excited that she had returned for another one of their talks. Liara had been afraid that she had frightened Shepard away before with her awful attempts to speak with her. Liara knew just how awkward she could be.

“I was wondering… well, that was kind of a lot back there, wasn’t it?” Shepard was grinning at her… sheepishly? Liara was still learning human facial cues, but this one was awfully similar to how an asari would look in the same situation. Liara supposed that she was very lucky that humans and asari were more similar than either cultures would have guessed, otherwise she would be at a complete loss. At any rate, she was almost glad to see Shepard appear as she did. Not that she would with discomfort on the commander, but it was nice to see that she wasn't the only one who was at a loss on how to proceed.

“It was. I am relieved that Benezia was not under her own will, and yet I am not. I am not sure what will become of her.” What was she supposed to do now? Liara was more prepared for a… well, far more traitorous Benezia. Her mother would have never been the type of person do commit the terrible crimes that she had while under Saren's command, however it was what she had been mentally preparing for since Shepard had told her all of what her mother had done. It was shocking at the time, but she eventually came to terms with it. The indoctrination? Well, she was completely out of her depth.

Shepard seemed to look more than a little guilty at her words. Liara didn’t blame her for what was happening. Not any of it. She knew what the Spectre was setting out to do after she had rescued Liara from Therum. While she was shocked to learn of Benezia’s betrayal, it simply made sense that the Council would send someone to investigate. It was highly likely that her mother would end up facing the consequences of what she had done. That was not under doubt. Liara did not like her mother’s situation, but that did not mean Shepard was to blame for any of it. Saren was.

“I had to put her in the brig, Liara,” Shepard admitted uncomfortable. As if she expected Liara to be upset with her at the news. She wasn't, but Liara did appreciate that the commander was trying to be sensitive towards her feelings. It made her feel… nice. “I know what we saw in the labs, but I can’t take the risk that she won’t lose control and hurt one of my crew.”

“I understand, Shepard. Truly. At any rate, Benezia would not wish anyone harm if she was under her own will. I do not want my mother to regret anything more than she must.”

Liara had hated that horrible look of regret that had crossed her mother's face right before she had attacked them all again. The look that had Liara certain Benezia had lost control and was going to murder them. And her mother had known that horror was going to pass as she slipped back into Saren's grasp. If Liara could be grateful for one thing in Aethyta's sudden appearance, it would be that she had stopped her mother from doing any more harm to others. Liara had a sinking feeling that she never would have been able to hope to match her mother's skill in biotics.

“Aethyta’s something else, isn’t she?” Shepard was grinning more easily this time, as if Liara's assurance had put her more at ease. Liara decided she liked that, very much so.

“Yes, I have not come across another asari like her before. Do you believe she will stay angry with you?”

Aethyta had _not_ been pleased when Shepard chose to release the rachni queen. She had argued vehemently otherwise, claiming that Shepard had no idea what she was doing; releasing many curses and insults against humanity’s short sightedness. However the Matriarch had not been privy to what they had learned down in the Hot Labs. With the knowledge that the Binary Helix scientists had brought their situation to themselves, it made Shepard’s decision far less black and white. Also, Liara suspected that Shepard thought they had gotten what they deserved. The commander truly hated unethical scientists. Ultimately, the human chose to grant the queen a second chance. Perhaps Shepard empathized with the queen’s desire for survival. Liara knew that they had this in common.

Shepard was smirking at her question. Liara had to admit that she liked that look on the human.

“Honestly, I kind of think Aethyta’s not too unfamiliar with anger. I do hope she gets over it though. She really looked like she knew what she was going with that Charge,” Shepard almost winced in sympathy at the memory that was undoubtedly playing through her mind. The one with Benezia slamming violently into the tank as Aethyta intervened with her attempt to attack Liara. It was certainly playing through her mind, and Liara wondered if it was going to be a memory she would always have. “So, uh… do you think she’s really your other parent? You didn’t seem like you believed her back there.”

“I am not sure what to think. I believe that she cares for my mother. That much is obvious. But she is so different than I would have expected. I have always wondered who Benezia had bonded with, but to see Aethyta…,” Liara trailed of uncertainly. “I cannot reconcile her personality with my mother’s. At least not right now. Can we talk of something else, Shepard? I have much to think about.”

When the commander left, Liara was certain the revelation Aethyta had given her would play over and over in her mind as she wrestled with it. She realized that she had finally gotten the answer to the one question she had longed to know since she was very young. It had followed her ever since she had realized just why other children hadn't wanted to play with her. When her mother had told her that her other parent was an asari. That this asari was still alive and had apparently never bothered to meet her…. At least, not until now. Liara wasn't certain about what she should be feeling right now. Everything was so confusing.

“Can we pick up where we left off? I believe you were telling me about your interest in the Protheans,” Shepard reminded her.

Embarrassment shot through her body at Shepard’s question. When the commander had last come to visit her, Liara had told her she wished to perform an “in depth study.” It sounded much worse than what she meant. Liara was a Prothean researcher. She would be lying if she claimed she wasn’t at least a little interested in how the beacon had affected Shepard. However, she did hope that the commander didn’t think that was the only thing she was interested in. She liked Shepard and hoped that they could at least form a friendship.

“Actually, I think I was talking about my interest in you. And making a fool of myself in the process,” Liara said, trying desperately not to blush in front of this particular human. Goddess knew she did so in front of just about every other person in the galaxy that she'd ever met. “As I said, I’m not very good at dealing with other people. Especially humans.”

Liara had never spent much time outside of either asari space or her dig sites. She was only 106 and considering her relatively young age compared to others of her species, she had not previously been allowed to venture far from Benezia only a couple of decades ago. Then, after she had been permitted to leave, and after reaching adulthood, she was far more interested in visiting Prothean dig sites rather than learning more of other species. As humanity was so new to the galaxy, she had not had the opportunity to deal with them before meeting Shepard and her crew. They were rather intimidating, as she confided so to Shepard. They did everything so quickly and sometimes without thinking their actions through completely. That was such a massive deviation from what she was used to seeing in her own species. Like nearly all Matriarchs, Benezia planned her actions thoroughly. She did nothing without considerable thought and there were times she was known to wait years before making a decision.

Humanity on the other hand, took after their interests with zeal unlike any she had ever seen. It also soon became apparent that she was not the only one to notice either. The galaxy at large seemed to regard humanity as a bully. Going after what they wanted with little thought to others. Though perhaps they did not know how their actions came across to everyone else. Shepard seemed a bit surprised that they were thought of as such.

Of course, Shepard would be surprised. She was so unlike the other humans in her crew, or the humans she had since come across in their travels, that it was likely the commander didn’t think like most of her species to begin with. That was why she had looked up everything she could on the human. Or at least a part of the reason if she was being true to herself. Shepard fascinated her every level. She wanted to know as much as she could about the commander. If only she could actually carry a conversation with Shepard without messing everything up. So Liara did the next best thing and researched the human on the extranet. She was good at research, her entire career was centered around it. Unlike speaking with people.

What she had learned was frankly inspiring. She knew Shepard was a considerable force first hand, but she could not have imagined the human surviving a Thresher nest of all things. It was easy to see why she commanded the respect of her crew so effortlessly. It was likely that Shepard did not realize it, but Liara could sense that the others figured that if their commander could get out of a situation warranting only death, she could survive anything. And perhaps they could as well by proxy.

Liara still found a way to embarrass herself anyway. Somehow, she found herself admitting that she had looked the commander's personal history up to the woman herself. Goddess, Liara would be more mortified than she already was if she wasn't so accustomed to embarrassing herself around others. By now, she'd come to reluctantly accept that she was doomed to repeat these kinds of interactions for probably the rest of her life. Which was probably going to last a _very_ long time.

“You didn’t have to look up that information behind my back. I would have told you everything you wanted to know,” Shepard told her. Liara couldn't tell whether the human was surprised that she had gone to such lengths to get to know her, or if she was disturbed that she had done so.

“I apologize, Shepard. After our last conversation, I was afraid I would say something stupid again. I wanted to know more about you. Know what made you into the woman that you are. There is something compelling about you, Shepard,” Liara admitted. If she was going to be embarrassingly honest, she could at least try to see if Shepard felt the same way that she did. The thought made her feel almost lightheaded with nerves.

“Are you sure you’re interested in me, or is it the beacon?” Shepard asked her bluntly. Liara couldn't say that she was accustomed to dealing with people that spoke their mind so clearly, but Liara found that she liked it. In this case, it would at least hopefully keep her from saying something even more foolish than she already had.

“I admit, your connection to the Protheans had something to do with my initial interest. But it has grown beyond that. You intrigue me, Shepard. But I was not sure it was appropriate to act on my feelings. I thought there might already be a relationship between you and Lt. Alenko.”

She couldn’t really believe she had just said that. Did she really just admit her feelings to Shepard? It wasn’t that she didn’t want to admit her feelings. Rather, she was shocked she had managed the courage to speak her mind. Liara had planned to ease a bit more into this conversation. The commander was the first person that had ever made her feel this way. Liara had always had trouble speaking with people. She was exceptionally gifted at finding some way to embarrass herself or her companion. However, Shepard was the first person that ever made her care that she may have ruined a relationship beyond the initial awkwardness of conversation. She cared what Shepard thought of her. She worried that the human may not come back after another interaction gone wrong.

Only that had never happened. Shepard kept returning to her storage room. She continued to ask her along with the ground team. She was requested to go with Shepard to the Citadel. All of this happened despite Liara’s unintentional best efforts to be terribly awkward. Indeed, she was beginning to suspect that Shepard found her awkwardness endearing. Actually, now that she thought about it, Shepard seemed to be teasing her last shore leave. Not meanly so, but Liara found herself almost constantly blushing in the commander's presence while they had been out together. Wrex had told them to get it over with. Liara hadn't known what he was alluding to at the time, too caught up in trying to figure out if Shepard was meaning to get as close to her as she did, whether she was smiling while she asked Liara why she looked so flushed. If she was feeling okay. Goddess, it was so obvious now that Shepard had been making her blush on purpose and she could feel her face heating up even now as she realized that the commander had done so because she had enjoyed seeing Liara like that.

However, it wasn’t long before she began to hear rumors about Shepard and Lt. Alenko. The crew would talk about them during mess and seemed favorable towards the possibility of them being in a relationship, especially Gunnery Chief Williams. Liara would also occasionally see Shepard and the lieutenant speaking together. The two seemed very familiar with each other. Liara would not normally consider herself an envious person, and she wasn’t really, but the idea of the commander with someone else bothered her somewhat. She at least wanted to know where she stood with Shepard.

“The lieutenant and I are just friends,” Shepard said firmly, without even a quiver in her voice. “Nothing more.”

“My mistake, then. I am not as adept at understanding human relationships as I thought. But what about us, Shepard? Is there a mutual attraction, or was I wrong about that too?”

Goddess, Liara hoped that she wasn't wrong. She didn't want to think about the alternatives. The thought that Shepard was teasing her not out of attraction, but with another, possibly meaner motive, brought back uncomfortable memories. Not to mention a depressing fear that Liara hadn't escaped that particular brand of cruelty from her childhood after all.

“No,” Shepard told her softly, “you were right. There is something between us.”

And all at once, that fear drained away. Liara had never felt as light as she was in that moment. She never would have guessed that this would happen to her. That she would meet someone she was interested in and have that interest returned. Not out here, not right now, and not with a group of people she had never expected to get along with, let alone meet in her entire life. Liara was actually a bit surprised she had managed to attract Shepard without scaring her off first. The realization that she hadn't nearly made her giddy.

“I knew it! And I knew you felt it too. But… does this not feel rather strange? Why do I feel so close to you? We have only known each other a short time. We are from two different species. We have almost nothing in common. This makes no sense!” Liara exclaimed as nervousness swallowed the happier feelings she had right up and took over her body.

If she really thought about it, she and Shepard truly didn’t make sense. Liara sometimes could not see why an Alliance marine would be interested in a Prothean scientist, yet here they were. And she had no idea how they had gotten here. Yes, Shepard had gone out of her way to talk with her often, but Liara had at first thought the commander was just being nice. Taking pity on her because she probably seemed to lonely back here alone in a repurposed storage room. But slowly, Liara had started to hope that the perhaps Shepard had actually returned because she liked talking to Liara. She certainly felt that way. To learn that was true was… it was a bit overwhelming. Liara had no idea how to act in a relationship. Goddess, she already knew she was terrible at meeting people. She didn't want to think of the possible ways she could mess this up even worse.

Then there was the issue that they really had virtually no common interests. What in the galaxy were they going to talk about once Liara exhausted all the knowledge she had on her own species's culture and biology? Goddess, that wasn't exactly a conversation people made when they wanted to get to know one another. She also doubted that Shepard would be as into the Protheans as she was. The commander was forcibly given information on them, information that was vital to her mission. If the exhausting and tiring melds were any indication, Liara would not be surprised if Shepard avoided anything about the Protheans for as long as she possibly could. Though, Liara did concede that they had yet to really try anything. Maybe they would discover other things about each other. Things that would help them form a relationship. Liara couldn't help but idly wonder if this was how her mother’s relationship began. Honestly, it wasn’t as if Benezia and Aethyta had any more in common than she and Shepard did besides their species. And that was taboo amongst her people.

Was she ready for this though? Liara had never had a romantic relationship with anyone before. She was completely inexperienced and Shepard in comparison was likely already familiar with romances. Everything was so confusing right now. She honestly cared for Shepard and wanted to see where they would go with each other. However, between her mother’s condition, her alleged father and Saren threatening Council space, everything seemed like it was going too fast. Liara didn’t like it, but perhaps it would be best to put things on hold for a little while. At least until Saren was taken care of. Liara didn't know how much attention she could fairly give to a burgeoning relationship with all of… _that_ on her mind. She didn't want to lead Shepard on.

“This is… overwhelming. I am not used to… this. You. I need some time,” Liara haltingly said. Somewhat upset with herself that she couldn't manage to find all the words that would help her tell Shepard that _she_ was truly the problem. Everything else was.

Hopefully Shepard wouldn’t be upset with her. That was the last thing she wished. Liara did not want the commander to think she was leading her on. After all, it was only a moment ago they were getting rather serious in their conversation. And it was, serious that is, which was why she needed time to think. To process everything that was happening around her. Liara had to suppress the groan she felt coming up at the thought of trying to come to terms with everything she had discovered today. Her long lost father returning, her mother being the victim of a sinister mind control, the fact that her mother might just be tried as a traitor and punished severely. Just how severely, she didn't want to think about right now. Everything was already overwhelming enough.

Shepard for her part did not seem upset at all. Instead she was smiling at her patiently. No, Shepard was by no means a bully towards people that did not deserve it.

“Take all the time you need, Liara. I’ll be here.”


	4. Chapter 4

Damn did she hate talking to politicians. Aethyta had once thought she could tolerate it years ago for the good of her people and shit like that, but besides Nezzy, she just couldn’t stand the absolute headache inducing circling they liked to do. She also wasn't about to return to the Forum after Nezzy had made it clear she wasn't wanted. Fuck if she was going to put herself through that crap again.

Shepard had kept her word, which was nice. The human could have easily done whatever she wanted as soon as she had Aethyta and her girls on her ship. The humans outnumbered her as soon as they stepped aboard. She was still pissed at the dumbass for the shit she pulled with the rachni queen, but Shepard at least had the decency to allow her to see to Nezzy’s medical examination. After she was assured that she hadn't knock Nezzy stupid, well actually she might have knocked some _sense_ into her damn fool ex with the actions she's been taking lately. Anyway, the human led her to her comm room and had her pilot connect her to Tevos. She could see the councilor was surprised to her. It wasn’t like she showed her face at the stuffy Forum meets anymore.

“Matriarch Aethyta, to what do I owe this pleasure?” Tevos asked neutrally, but they both knew she wasn't happy to see her.

“Cut the crap, Tevos. I need you to connect us to the Matriarchy,” Aethyta told her firmly. She wasn't in the mood to play their game today.

Tevos regarded her like she always has: with barely hidden distaste. Nezzy had always liked her for whatever reason, probably because Tevos kept with her ideas. Aethyta, however, did not agree. Sure, she was personable enough, which is why she had her cushy job. The two just didn’t agree on any front and Tevos didn’t have a fantastic rack to make up for it.

“I’m sure you know that we all have our schedules to keep. This is a bit last moment, Matriarch. Perhaps you should bring up whatever it is that concerns you at our next Forum meet,” Tevos told her, and Aethyta had to grit her teeth at the low blow. It was more than a little sudden, they usually liked to work their way up to those dirty shots.

Of course, in all of the years Aethyta and Tevos had known one another, not once has she referred to Aethyta by her damn name like she’s reminded her to do for centuries. She knew that Tevos did it on purpose. While Aethyta felt comfortable enough to curse and rant to anyone, Tevos got by with being infuriatingly polite. Nezzy had once told her the councilor did it to get back at her for all of the shit she’s given Tevos in her career.

“Nope, gotta do it today. I know some things about Nezzy that they’d like to hear about,” Aethyta answered breezily, not rising to the bait Tevos had just thrown. It was going to take a lot more than that to get her to lose her temper today. Fuck, she needed to get things done.

“Matriarch Benezia? I had not known you were in contact with her,” Tevos said, her brows raised. As far as anyone who was actually old enough to remember their bonding was concerned, Aethyta and Benezia had broken up very publicly with finality.

“Dammit Tevos, it’s not like we’ve been trading fucking emails,” Aethyta snapped, not fond of the reminder that her and Nezzy's breakup was common knowledge among the Matriarchy. Wrinkled bitches had enough to gossip about as it was. “I’ve been using my old contacts to keep an eye on her. She's the fucking mother of my kid. You think I just stopped keeping up with her? Anyway, I tracked her here and helped Shepard bring her in.”

In any other situation, she would have been smug at seeing Tevos nearly lose her shit at what she just said. It wasn’t often that she could break the other asari’s composure, but when she did, it was pretty funny. As it was, she was having a hard time finding anything funny today.

“Shepard has the Matriarch in custody?! Why has she not written her report?” Tevos demanded angrily.

“Because she’s doing me a favor. Listen, Tevos, and keep up. I want to talk to the Matriarchy about what they plan to do with her. I know they’d like to fuck Nezzy over, but that’s not going to happen,” Aethyta growled. “Not with the crap that I know.”

“Matriarch Benezia has violated multiple Council laws. If Shepard has her in custody, we have to prosecute her for her crimes. We cannot allow her preferential treatment based upon her past,” Tevos snapped, probably not liking what Aethyta was saying. Too damn bad.

“Nice to know you’d stick up for your friends, Tevos,” she drawled.

“Try to see this from the Matriarchy’s point of view,” Tevos appealed, not realizing that Aethyta had long since stopped giving a fuck about the Matriarchy's fucking narrow points of view. She had literally wasted a hundred years trying to work with the old hags with nothing to show for it. “Matriarch Benezia has attacked a human colony. They are under Council jurisdiction. If we do not try to bring Eden Prime’s attackers to justice, the Alliance would be well within their rights to demand reparations.”

“Last I checked Saren was the one that was actually seen on the colony. There were never reports that Nezzy was there,” Aethyta pointed out easily, dismissing Tevos's argument entirely.

“We have hard evidence that implicates Matriarch Benezia’s involvement with Saren,” she countered. “Matriarch, you are too close to this matter. The Council dispatched a Spectre to investigate Saren and the Matriarchy supports that decision. Leave Commander Shepard to handle this.”

Aethyta's eyes narrowed at Tevo's implication. What did she mean she was 'too close to this matter'? She had absolutely no doubt that Tevos already knew the kid was here. Shepard was a fucking Spectre, if she hadn't told the Council that she had Nezzy's daughter on board her ship, then the _Council_ had to have told her about Liara instead. Just the thought that they were perfectly willing to use the kid against her own mother and then have the fucking _gall_ to protest against Aethyta's involvement was enough to get her biotics to prickle under her skin.

“No. I don’t give a _damn_ how close I am to this,” Aethyta seethed. “If you want to bring up that shit, then tell me why Shepard wasn’t told to let Liara off on the Citadel. The other Matriarchs are pissing their panties on Thessia. I know they want this taken care of by any means necessary, even if that means using the kid to get to her mother. _Fuck_ that shit. I’m in for the long haul now; you’ve gone and pissed me off. Set up the meeting with the rest of those idiots. I’ve still got some damn good contacts. I can spread some real nice crap around that would make what Nezzy’s done look damn pretty in comparison.”

“What are you referring to?” Tevos asked suspiciously, picking up on the dead serious tone underneath Aethyta's voice immediately. And she probably didn't like it. They both knew Aethyta wasn't one to mess around when she was truly angry.

By now, Aethyta and Tevos were outright glaring at each other. Tevos and the other Matriarchs had never any patience with her when she got pissed. It wasn’t proper or polite or whatever. In the Forum, she’d have to deal with having to dance around different subjects. The others liked to keep things nice and civil. Only, when they were talking about their people’s future, or potential conflicts few as they were, there wasn’t much room to make sure they didn’t make each other cry and shit. Not in her opinion anyway. Nezzy was always much better at navigating what everyone was saying and not saying. At any rate, she knew that Tevos would much rather just disconnect their vid call. She just didn't want to risk that Aethyta could potentially cause trouble based on her espionage past.

“I’m referring to some of the shit Nezzy may have accidentally let slip while we were bonded.”

The silence that followed spoke volumes. Aethyta was perfectly willing to lay down her cards early. Fuck, it would probably take Tevos off guard, if not get her what she wanted faster. And Aethyta wanted get Nezzy taken care of _fast._

“That’s not possible,” Tevos denied, but Aethyta could hear the nervous disbelief under her words. She had to give Tevos credit. She had really tried to hide it well, but Aethyta _really_ liked messing with the councilor. She made it a personal hobby to learn how to take Tevos off guard as much as possible when they spoke. “Matriarch Benezia is renowned for her discipline and control.”

“Are you telling me you never let something slip while you fucked somebody? Hell, what am I saying Can’t imagine you’ve gotten laid in this century,” Aethyta snorted, the grimace on Tevos's face made her feel marginally after this shit day. “You’re too uptight, Tevos. Anyway, did you know my kid’s an expert in Prothean history? She’s been known to get carried away with that stuff. Maybe I can talk her into a little break. A vacation to the Temple, see the nice statues and other shit. It’s not my thing, but she could probably use a reminder of the good things about her mom right now.”

She could see Tevos grow very still at her words. Good, finally the bitch was actually listening. She was probably wondering if Aethyta actually knew something about the beacon. Nezzy hadn’t actually ever meant to let her in on that. It happened just as she’d implied to Tevos. One night of wild, uncivilized sex, and Nezzy’s mental barriers were too weak to prevent her thoughts from getting to Aethyta. That was one hell of a surprise. She wasn’t exactly a believer in Athame or any such deity. The Goddess provided a subject for some of her best phrases, but beyond that, she wasn’t much for religion. She wasn’t broken up about the truth of Athame. Rather she was more surprised that the Matriarchy could be so devious.

Nezzy had made her _promise_ to never speak of it. Aethyta was definitely capable of lying. She was capable of a shit load of things to get her job done, whether as a spy or a mercenary. But, hell, even she could see the shit storm that would unleash if the beacon ever got out to the other races. Or even just her own people. There were still a few fools that believed in the Goddess, despite the more popular siarist religion. Riots, demands for a restructure of the government, a bitch fest from the other races. The way her people did things weren’t perfect. She sure as hell knew that. Yet she also knew that sending everything into fucking chaos wasn’t the best way to fix crap.

So she had kept her promise. Until now. Nezzy would probably end up pissed at her if she ever got her crazy ex-bondmate out of this. But, Nezzy should have realized long ago that she’d do fucking anything to keep her out of trouble. She hadn't returned the favor in the end, but Aethyta wasn't about to abandon her the same way Nezzy had. No, fuck that. Nezzy might think she was the nicer of the two, but Aethyta knew the truth.

“I am sure Dr. T’Soni would enjoy her time at the Temple. Of course, there are many other artifacts that would likely better hold her interests. Our people don’t quite hold the Goddess in as high regard any longer,” Tevos hedged, calling Aethyta out and hoping that she was only bluffing. Aethyta could only smile darkly.

Of course she should have known Tevos wouldn’t have taken her at her word. Hell, here she was trying to act like Nezzy, and that was going to take fucking forever. They were dancing around her knowledge of the beacon playing politics and saying one thing, but meaning another. She hated that shit and she wanted to get this crap over with.

“She would if I told her that a Prothean beacon was hidden inside the statue of Athame,” Aethyta said bluntly, ignoring the way Tevos's eyes grew as large as fucking plates. “The kid can apparently get pretty twitchy over this stuff. Then I could make a nice sum of credits selling what I know to the Shadow Broker. I could use a nice vacation.”

“You would unveil a secret our people have held for millennia?!” Tevos choked out, totally caught off guard by the fact that Aethyta knew of the beacon. She wasn't surprised. She'd bet all the Goddess-damned booze in her bar that the Matriarchy considered her a fucking security risk as far as the beacon was concerned. Idiotic old hags, when the fuck had she ever compromised state secrets in her long ass career working for these windbags? “What are you trying to get out of this, Matriarch Aethyta? The beacon has provided us much advancement over our history and it will do so in our future. You would endanger its existence for the sake of a traitor?”

“Damn straight. Tevos, I’m not in politics anymore. I don’t care what will happen if I sell the information. I’ve retired to my bars and I’m trying to fucking relax. Only that’s not working out with the kid and Nezzy getting into this mess. I take care of my own and they are a part of that. Don’t fuck up and think I wouldn’t do anything for them. Are you gonna take the chance to see if I’d actually choose between our people or one of my family? If that’s so, then you’re even stupider than I thought,” she sneered.

No, she wasn't going to walk away from her family this time. Fuck, Goddess knew T'Sonis weren't smart enough to keep themselves out of trouble.

“Very well,” Tevos finally ground out through clenched teeth. Aethyta would have laughed at the fact she had so easily outmaneuvered Tevos at her own game, but she wasn't exactly in the mood. “I will give you a time for the meeting once I have set it up. However…. Do not think the Matriarchy, or even myself, will not take this threat seriously, Matriarch. We will not take this lightly.”

Tevos terminated the connection before she could retort. She didn’t care though. Aethyta had gotten what she wanted and that was all she cared about. She would make the rest of those old bitches see she was very serious. Nezzy would be horrified to see the extent she would go to save her, but that didn’t matter to Aethyta. Nezzy had always been too damn selfless. That and she was getting really fucking tired of doing things Nezzy's way. Look at where that had gotten her fool self and their equally fool kid. Fuck, Aethyta was going to have to teach them both how to be a little Goddess-damned selfish. Sometimes you had to think of yourself and fuck everyone else. If the Matriarchy forced her hand, they were going to regret it.


	5. Chapter 5

Shepard found her in the comm room almost as soon as Tevos had disconnected. Aethyta suspected the humans were keeping tabs on her. She couldn’t exactly blame them, considering she’d do the same in their position. But shit, it wasn’t going to be easy to get Nezzy off the human Spectre’s ship if it came to that.

“Benezia has regained consciousness. Do you want to see her?”

Aethyta grunted in the affirmative and the human started to lead her to her ex-bondmate. Aethyta was not at all sure what she was going to say to Nezzy. Or rather yell as she was in a yelling mood right now. She knew the general shit she wanted to talk about. The damn turian, the geth, attacking the humans, _trying to fucking kill the kid._ Yeah, that was a big one. It was the most fucked up of Nezzy’s recent actions. Shit, Aethyta knew Nezzy was certainly capable of being a cold-hearted bitch when she wanted to be. Hell, she had even been on the receiving end of that when their bonding blew up. She gritted her teeth as they rode the elevator down, even remembering what had very nearly happened was pissing her off all over again. Just what was the damn kid thinking just standing there? Fuck, this wasn't Liara's fault. If Aethyta had been her age, and had half the guts her kid did, and stood in between her stupid as hell parents before they murdered each other, she probably wouldn't have reacted much better. Never could she have imagined seeing the look on her ex-bondmate’s face before she nearly attacked their kid. It was one that Aethyta was sure was the half the damn reason Liara froze in the first place.

In fact, it was nearly identical to the face Nezzy was making now as Aethyta looked at her ex-lover in her containment cell.

“Aethyta,” Nezzy sneered. “You were always one for meddling in other people's affairs.”

The condescension was what really got to her. It was something she had heard rarely in their relationship. Usually during their most heated arguments and they were trying to really shit on the other’s mood. Or if Nezzy was trying to out do her in the Forum…. Nezzy liked to use the tone when she figured Aethyta was really in the wrong. _Oh yeah_ , she sure as hell was in the wrong here. Athame’s ass was she wrong to have stopped Nezzy from killing Liara. How _fucking_ stupid of her.

“For fucks sake, Nezzy! ' _Meddling in other people's affairs?’_ “ Aethyta knew she was shouting, but she couldn't find it in her to give a shit. Goddess, she was going to give Benezia T'Soni a piece of her damn mind here if that was the last thing she ever did. “That’s what you have to _fucking_ say?! What the _hell_ was that back there? Shit, I knew things were bad when I started getting the reports on you. I knew you were sliding off the damn deep end. What I want to really fucking know is what the hell you were going at with Liara. The rest of that shit I can at least _try_ to get past.”

“I realized I should have been stricter with Liara. She did not heed my call to come to my side. Instead she has allied herself with Saren’s enemies. That cannot be tolerated,” Nezzy answered her coldly. As if they were talking about mandates she _really_ opposed in the Forum, and not their _daughter._

Aethyta gaped at her. Not many people could get her quiet. Nezzy was one of the few, and here she was acting as different to the bondmate Aethyta could remember as possible. Nezzy’s words were delivered so coldly, and matter of fact, that had Aethyta not been face to face with Nezzy as she had said them, she would have claimed another asari was speaking them entirely. Nezzy’s attitude toward Liara was completely fucked up compared to what she had seen or read from her reports of the two. By all accounts Nezzy fucking adored Liara. They had been going through a rough patch, but it wasn’t anything too weird. She had gone through one herself with one of her own daughters a few centuries ago. Was it something worse then? Shit, she was going to have to talk to the kid after all. She had wanted to give her a little time to herself. No doubt the last thing the kid wanted was to be interrogated by a stranger. Damn, everything was wrong.

“This is a bit of what we were talking about, Aethyta,” Shepard jumped in, sounding apologetic. Aethtya didn't know _why._ The human hadn't tried to murder Liara, so as much as she irritated the shit out of her, Shepard was already a step up the ladder than Nezzy was in terms of who was on her shit list. “I don’t think she means any of what she’s saying. Benezia sounded completely different when she broke control of Saren. It was like two completely different people were in the same body.”

Back to the damned mind control again. Maybe Shepard would just pass Nezzy up on her list after all. She didn't want to hear any damned excuses for Nezzy right now. As far as Aethtya was concerned, trying to kill the kid was inexcusable and any attempt to do so might just earn Shepard a good kick to the quad eventually.

“Dammit Shepard, what exactly am I supposed to do here? Yeah, the Nezzy that I know would never sound like this, but what you and the kid claim sounds too fucking crazy to be true. Where’s your damn _proof?_ ” She could feel her jaw beginning to hurt from how tightly she had it clenched. Dammit, she was supposed to be retired, leaving all this fucking stress behind her.

“Can’t you meld with her or something? Liara’s been doing that with me to figure out what a Prothean beacon’s been doing to my head. We could share information like that. Couldn’t you do the same with Benezia?”

How familiar were Shepard and the kid, exactly? From what she knew, the kid didn’t have many friends. Liked to keep to herself. Aethyta was not at all sure where she got that from. Nezzy liked to talk and make friends and alliances and shit. She personally was most comfortable in a bar, drinking and challenging anyone that would take her up on it to drinking games. Actually, talking was something she and Nezzy had in common. Though Nezzy liked to speak much more cleanly than her. Liara, on the other hand, had apparently stuck to her studies. Sure, she was proud of the kid for doing something far more than showing her tits off at some club or taking after her and joining a mercenary group in her maiden days, but that didn’t leave much room for more interesting life experiences.

Yeah, a knowledge meld wasn’t sex by any means, but Shepard was a human and not Nezzy. Meaning, that she was probably the first person Liara has ever shared with other than her mother and with another race at that. Shit, for all she knew, what she told Tevos might have been more truthful than she thought and the kid did get really twitchy when Protheans were involved. At any rate, she’d have to look into that later.

“You mean force a meld on her? Shepard, what exactly do you know about melding other than what the kid has done with you?” Aethyta asked with raised brows.

“Well, I mean… uh, asari do it to reproduce,” Shepard said, slightly awkwardly while rubbing the back of her neck. If Aethyta weren't so pissed off right now, she'd probably find this funny. The human seemed to jump to the same line of thinking Aethyta had. And subsequently remembered that she was talking to the kid's parents.

“Yeah, we use it to fuck too. Did the kid give you the standard crap about ‘two becoming one’ and all that? Bottom line, we don’t force that shit on anybody. Not unless you’re really fucked in the head. By the way Nezzy’s looking at me right now, we can say that she sure as hell isn’t going to let me meld with her.”

Part of Aethyta had to admit that she kind of didn't want to. She really wasn't in any damn hurry to experience the reasoning Nezzy had for attacking Liara directly. Sure, she wanted to hear it, but she didn't exactly want to _know_ it. Aethyta could damn well admit that she had a soft spot for her kids.

“I will not allow you to gain Saren’s secrets. I will not betray him,” Nezzy said stubbornly.

“I don’t give a _fuck_ about Saren,” Aethyta nearly exploded as she spun to face Nezzy again. “What I want to know is what’s in it for you, Nezzy? What the fuck could he possibly have that would make you do all this shit?”

“He will be our savior. The Council has sent Shepard to stop him and that will doom us all. Saren cannot be stopped, he must not be stopped,” Nezzy said with insane devotion.

The fervor that Nezzy spoke with drew Aethyta up short and dissolved a _little_ of her anger. She had never heard Nezzy talk like that before about anything. Even at her most excited, Nezzy had never sounded so… obsessed. Aethyta didn't want to admit it, but it scared her.

“What is she going on about?” She asked Shepard after a long pause.

“I’m not certain, but I think it’s the Reapers. Saren attacked Eden Prime to get to a Prothean beacon that was dug up there. We got there after him, and one of my team members accidentally activated it. I was able to get between them, but the beacon ended up burning a vision in my brain. It showed synthetics, wiping people out. Slaughtering them. I think the Reapers wiped out the Protheans fifty thousand years ago and we have proof that Saren is trying to bring them back.”

What the fuck? Was she surrounded by morons?

“Shepard, that sounds even crazier than the damn mind control. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were more fucking insane than Nezzy. Hell, maybe you are,” Aethyta told her. She could feel her anger amping back up. This was fucking serious and Nezzy was busy acting deranged, while Shepard treated this like a damned joke.

“I know it sounds crazy,” Shepard said, trying to appease Aethyta's anger with the way she held her hands up and in front of her, “and maybe I wouldn’t believe it either, only Liara told me that she believes something wiped the Prothean out fifty thousand years ago. That there were others before them and others that came before that. She called it a cycle of extinction. She is the Prothean expert.”

Her youngest was smart, but from what she knew about Liara’s career was that not many people took her seriously. Combination of her age and that her ideas were off the wall compared to everyone else in her field. Aethyta knew what it was like to have “crazy” ideas though. The other matriarchs laughed the blue off her ass eventually once she had come up with one radical idea too many. Once Nezzy no longer supported her in the Forum, no one took her even a little seriously any longer. She knew from experience that just because people thought your ideas were shit, didn’t mean you were fucking wrong.

She still had a hard time believing what Shepard told her, though. It was just too fucking far-fetched.

“She would have proven valuable to Saren,” Nezzy suddenly spoke up, as if she was triggered by the very mention of the kid's name. “Instead she has chosen to reject our guidance. Saren could have provided her an escape of what is to come. Now she will suffer her fate with the rest of the galaxy when the Reapers give judgment.”

“Goddess, stop talking, Nezzy,” Aethyta said, unable to repress a shudder at the sheer _hate_ that was coming from Nezzy's mouth. Fuck, what was _wrong_ with her?

“I would have led our people to salvation following Saren’s will. With my capture, there is no hope for the asari to escape their retribution. We are no longer proving our worth. They will end us,” Nezzy continued, like she didn't even hear Aethyta.

“Shit, Nezzy, _stop_.”

“You and Shepard will soon learn of the consequences for your transgressions. If you should stop Saren’s work, there will be no hope for anyone. I am—He….”

“Goddess _damn_ it!” Aethyta shouted. “I am not talking to you if you’re going to _fucking_ rant. Is this crap what I get for ranting at you for a century? I don’t have the patience for this shit, you know that.”

She couldn't take this any more. Sure, Nezzy had put up with Aethyta's tendencies to rage about something that had pissed her off at the end of their day during the bonding, but Aethyta didn't have the same patience. She was sure the very _topic_ Nezzy was going on about wasn't helping either. What the fuck was she talking about? Dooming their people? Saving them? Liara _deserving_ what ever fucked up fate Nezzy was apparently thinking of? It was too much and Aethyta didn't want to hear any more.

“Please. Aethyta, Shepard, do not allow me to go on as I am,” Nezzy was suddenly begging. Sounding much more in control and sane than she had been. The switch was disconcerting and Aethyta was honestly surprised to see it. What was going _on?!_ “Saren is whispering in my ear, I cannot ignore him. He will force me to… to…. My control…. It will not last much longer.”

“You want us to kill you?” Shepard asked, surprised.

“My mind is not my own, Shepard. It never will be again.”

“No one is gonna kill you. I’m going to make damn sure of that,” Aethyta snapped. For one thing, she didn't really want to see Nezzy dead. Ever. No matter how many times Benezia T'Soni stabbed her in the fucking back, Aethyta couldn't seem to do what was good for her and walk away. That, and she wasn't finished talking to Nezzy. She needed to hear a hell of a lot more shit about her decisions lately.

“ _No._ Aethyta, you cannot fight this. Saren’s indoctrination cannot be changed. I—My crimes have been too great under his command. Let justice take its course,” Nezzy pleaded.

“Yeah? You seem like you’re doing a damn good job fighting him now,” Aethyta challenged, almost coldly. She wasn't about to fall for some damn horror story like the kid and Shepard had. Nezzy was going to get what she had always gotten from Aethyta. The plain truth. And if she didn't like it, she could bitch to someone else. “If this indoctrination shit even exists. You’re freaking me out, Nezzy. You can say what you actually mean with me, you know I hate that damn circling crap.”

“His thoughts have perverted mine and all that I brought along with me,” Nezzy said sadly, like she didn't even notice just how _angry_ Aethyta was with her. She was too wrapped up in whatever delusion she had herself believing in. “Saren has access to technology that forces your will to submit to his. I hid a part of myself from his influence and it grows smaller as time passes. If you do not act soon, the process will find what is left and destroy it.”

“This doesn’t make sense. Where were your mental barriers? A turian got the best of them? Fuck, in all the melds we had, I would have _never_ able to get past them if I tried. Especially if you knew what I was doing. Come off it, Nezzy. Tell me the _truth,_ dammit!”

“It was subtle at first. The barest of whispers against them. I thought I was strong enough to resist, but that very arrogance was my undoing. I will not be strong enough to resist again. I do not have the energy left,” Nezzy insisted on her story and a part of Aethtya began to waver. The sadness and despair were emotions she had never seen Nezzy display so severely. What was happening here?

“Then let me help. You know I could. All you have to do is let me meld with you, like Shepard said,” Aethyta offered. Fuck, she hadn't _wanted_ to do this, but if it was the only way to get to the bottom of this shit, then she was going to bite the bullet. If only to figure out just what was wrong with Nezzy. Aethyta did _not_ like how… broken she was acting. “Or is this some way of giving up? I thought I knew you, Nezzy, but with all the shit that’s happened, maybe I don’t. Maybe you’ve turned into a damn coward this past century. Spineless like all the rest of those damn windbags you talk to all the time. I never would have pegged you for throwing in the towel when shit got tough. Is that what you really want to do? Let some fucking psychopath get the best of you without a fight? Without even trying? You want to give up on the kid? Fuck, you gave up on our bonding, maybe you can give up on her now too. Athame only knows you just tried to fucking _murder_ her. How's that for giving up?” Aethyta sneered at her, knowingly going for the hardest hitting shit she possibly could right now. Yeah, she was _worried_ about Nezzy right now, but she wasn't going to go easy on her either. Some damn tough love was in order, and Aethyta had never pulled her punches as far as that was concerned.

“I fought him with _everything_ that I am. What more would you have me do, Aethyta? I have spent months attempting to banish his control. _Months_ attempting to remember what matters to me. Every atrocity that I have committed under his order threatens to suffocate what is left of me. _I cannot go on,”_ Nezzy cried out, sounding like she was giving up. No, fuck that. Aethyta wasn't going to let her just lie down, not after everything Nezzy's done.

“ _Bullshit!”_ Aethyta roared. “Shepard, let down the containment field.”

“That containment field is the only thing that’s dampening her biotics. I’m not going to let her hurt my crew once she loses control again,” Shepard told her decisively. Shepard wasn't about to get in her way here, too, dammit.

“Then get her guards to clear out and we can take care of anything that goes wrong. I’m going to try something, and if she really wants to take the chance of hurting anybody else waiting me out, then I guess there isn’t much more I can do for her.”

“Aethyta, no! _Please_.”

But Benezia's begging wasn't swaying here and Shepard must have been curious enough about Nezzy's mental state to listen to Aethyta anyway. Good. Now they could finally get something done.

The two humans that had been standing watch over Nezzy didn’t take long to clear the room. Shepard was definitely intrigued about what Aethyta had in mind. Hell, maybe Shepard actually wanted to help Nezzy out and if that was the case, then maybe the human wasn’t so bad after all. Rachni stupidity disregarded.

Nezzy was regarding her in horror as the field flickered and died, taking away the protection it provided for her and Shepard. Shit, once this was all over, she was going to have to try to drink the look on her ex-bondmate’s face from her memory, she hated it that much. Tears, fucking tears, were coming down her face and her eyes pleaded with Aethyta to not get close to her. To forget her and to leave her to the human Spectre. Leave her to the fucking Matriarchy that would hang her up to dry. But Aethyta wasn't about to leave. Not on her end. Someone was going to have to step up to the plate here, and as pissed as Aethyta was at Nezzy, she couldn't just abandon her now. Not if the kid was the only other person in this damned galaxy who cared about Nezzy enough to fight for her. Liara'd get chewed and spit out by the Forum.

So she stepped close enough to Nezzy to form a meld and silently dared her to keep her out. What she had told Shepard was true. No asari would ever mentally force their way into the mind of another. Not unless they were really fucked up. Or an Ardat-Yakshi. She was really pushing that rule by playing a waiting game with Nezzy. They both knew that if what Nezzy and Shepard were saying about indoctrination was true, then they didn’t have much time before Nezzy would lose control again and attack them. She highly doubted Nezzy, a damn pacifist in the worst of circumstances normally, would ever willingly allow harm to come to someone. Particularly if she still cared about that someone. She just didn’t see any other option that would put all this shit to rest.

As she suspected, it did not take more than several seconds for Nezzy’s eyes to turn the signature black of a meld. And fuck, what a meld it was.

_Something_ was in Nezzy’s head with them. It sure as hell wasn’t anything Aethyta had ever felt from anything living. And she’d melded with fucking hanar. Oppressive was the best word that would describe what was happening to Nezzy’s mind and that didn’t do it a damn worth of justice. She could sense her bondmate’s mental barriers, far fewer than she remembered, and they were far weaker than they should have been. Whatever was with them kept slamming against them like a damn battering ram, threatening to collapse the barriers that held the force back from the small area that Nezzy had managed to carve out for herself in its wake.

_Goddess damn!_

_Leave, Aethyta. There’s nothing left for you to save._

_Take what you need from me, Nezzy. I’m not going to leave until you do._

It was a phenomenal risk that she was taking. They both realized that. Now that it was obvious that what the kid, Shepard and Nezzy were talking about was real, Aethyta found it impossible to abandon her ex. That wasn’t ever going to happen now. All at once, the rage Aethyta had been feeling drained from her. And then promptly rebuilt itself, but this time directed toward what ever the _fuck_ was in Nezzy's head. This was so much fucking worse than she could have possibly imagined. Even now, they could both hear the force _demand_ that Nezzy submit to it. To give up the last vestiges of her exhausted control and flay Aethyta alive with her mind.

So, she wasn’t going to let Nezzy have much of a choice in the matter. Nezzy was too weak now to force her out of the meld and Aethyta took advantage and released as much biotic and plain mental energy that she could. Nezzy could either use it or let it sit until her mind completely collapsed and the indoctrination destroyed them both.

And it sure as hell wasn’t a choice. Almost instantly, Nezzy took what she gave her and bolstered her barriers. It wasn’t going to get rid of the fucking indoctrination by any means, but it would buy her ex-bondmate some time. Perhaps lengthen the time she could overthrow Saren’s will.

As the pressure lessened, she began to help Nezzy rebuild a few of the barriers that were overcome with what was left of the strength Aethyta gave her. It wasn’t much. Aethyta considered herself pretty powerful. She could hold her own pretty damn good in any fight she came across. Only this was so fucking different than anything she had ever experienced. Nezzy had a damn cancer in her mind. It was going to be a war of attrition. Anything that they did now would be gone shortly. If they couldn’t find the power to continually push the damn indoctrination back _frequently_ then Nezzy would lose.

She wasn’t going to fucking lose.

When it became apparent that Aethyta had no more energy to spare, she left Nezzy’s mind. Shepard had her own biotics primed just in case Nezzy went psycho on them. That was cute. The human really had no idea that Nezzy could wipe the floor with her, but Aethyta wasn’t going to tell her that. She was willing to take any risk to get her ex what she needed. Even if that meant fucking Shepard over.

“What happened?” Shepard asked, looking between Aethyta and Benezia curiously.

“Gave Nezzy a bit of extra juice. She’ll be able to tell the turian to go fuck himself a little better,” Aethyta conceded aloud. Fuck, the mind control shit was _actually_ real. Just what in the fuck has Nezzy gotten herself into? How did this even happen?

“Aethyta, this will not be permanent. We were all able to fight him for a time, but none of our efforts ever lasted. He will gain control of me again. I can still hear him,” Nezzy told her, and Aethyta could hear just how fearful Nezzy was of that fate beneath her voice. No, that wasn't going to fucking happen if Aethyta had anything to say about it.

“I know. I also know that we can fight this until we find a better way,” Aethyta told her determinedly. She didn't know if there _was_ a better way out there, but somebody had to carry some damn hope in here. If Aethyta had to do it this time, then fine. Goddess only knew Benezia had been the one to do it so many times throughout their bonding. Aethyta could return the favor. “As long as that shit isn’t in my head, I can take some energy drinks, sleep this off and try again tomorrow. I’m not letting you give up on this, so you’re gonna be stuck with me for a while, Nezzy.”

“The Matriarchy will never allow my crimes to go unpunished. I realize that you are trying to help me, but there is nothing you can do.”

The sheer resigned undertone beneath Nezzy's words pissed Aethyta off all over again. Nezzy doubted her that much, did she? Well, Aethyta would just have to prove her wrong too. Benezia T'Soni knew how to quit, but quitting wasn't in Aethyta's nature.

“You’re wrong on that count. Been talking with Tevos. I got her to set up a little talk with the others. They’ll listen to me, unless they want to deal with some heavy shit from the other races. Or even our own. You know we have a lot of secrets. Crap they’d never want to see get out,” Aethyta told her with a smirk. Oh, yes. If Nezzy didn't want to help her in winning her freedom, Aethyta would do things _her_ way. And she was damn sure Nezzy wasn't going to like that one bit. Too damn bad.

“ _Blackmail?!_ By the Goddess, _no._ I will not let you do such a thing on my behalf. Do you believe that I would actually want you to do this?” Nezzy predictably protested. Aethyta couldn't help but enjoy the vehemence in which she said it. It was better than hearing all that fucking despair from earlier. Well, if pissing Nezzy off was going to get rid of that shit, then that was just what Aethyta was going to do. It certainly wasn't going to be a hardship for her.

“Shit, Nezzy, I’m not stupid. I just don’t care what you want right now. I know that’s cold, but nobody’s said I’ve ever been nice. This is a real hole you dug and you’re not the only one in it. You want to bet that Liara’s not cut up about this?” Aethyta asked, taking no small measure of satisfaction in the way Nezzy winced at the kid's name. Good. About damn time she remembered Liara. “I’m not gonna just let her watch you get dragged to a damn execution block. Not while I can do something about it. And yeah, I can admit I’m being selfish too. I don’t want to see that shit either.”

“You are making a mistake,” Nezzy insisted, despite Liara's reminder. Aethyta had to sigh at that. Nezzy's regret was much stronger than Aethyta would have thought. Which was pretty damn stupid. This was fucking _mind control._ Nezzy wasn't exactly in the driver's seat when she did all the shit she was accused of. “Every moment I am permitted to live is another chance that I may betray you. Please, do not allow your feelings to stand in the way of what is just.”

“You know there’s no chance in hell I’m just going to step aside. You might as well get used to not getting your way for a while, Nezzy. I told Tevos that I’m in it for the long haul now, and I wasn’t lying. Get ready for some tough love, babe,” Aethyta ignored the way Nezzy's shoulders slumped. That could be addressed later.

“Shepard, I want to talk to the kid.”

“I can _ask_ Liara if she wants to talk to you. No offense, Aethyta, but I’m not sure if she wants to talk to anyone yet. She wanted to be alone for a little bit,” Shepard told her firmly. The human was pretty damn protective over the kid, wasn't she?

“Matriarch, it was nice to see that Aethyta could help you a little. I’m going to send your… uh, guards back in. Tell them if you need anything and I’ll see if I can get it for you. Come on, I think she's had enough of us for right now,” Shepard told Aethyta. She supposed she couldn't really disagree with that. Nezzy looked exhausted.

Aethyta still had some things she wanted to talk to Nezzy about, things she's been bottling up for the past fucking century. But they could wait, there were much more important concerns she needed to see to.


	6. Chapter 6

She could tell that this was likely going to end up far more awkward than even her conversations with Shepard. The commander was fond of her jokes and gentle teasing that Liara didn’t often get experience with, but she knew that Shepard was aware of how far she could go with her humor. Aethyta was entirely different from the commander in this regard. The Matriarch said anything she liked and did not care of what others thought. Perhaps she was the source of Liara’s unfortunate trait of saying things she did not mean.

Liara honestly couldn’t decide whether she was ready for this. Shepard had come to inform her that her… father wished to speak with her not long ago. She had said yes out of a desire to get her inevitable conversation with Aethyta over with as soon as possible. Liara doubted there would ever be a better time for it. Shepard was not entirely convinced of her sincerity, she could tell. It had taken a few assurances that were honestly closer to lies to convince the human. Liara found Shepard’s doubt rather sweet.

Thus Aethyta was now with her in her storage room.

“So, kid, how’d you end up with a Spectre of all people? Last I heard you were digging up crap in the Artemis Tau Cluster,” Aethyta asked, as if she got constant updates about Liara's life.

Maybe she did.

“I was researching Prothean ruins. A krogan warlord and several geth interrupted my dig site, however. Shepard ended up saving my life and I have joined her crew to find out what Mother has been doing and to help Shepard with her Prothean vision. And how did you know of my location? It was not something that was heavily advertised,” Liara was frowning, and she was not about to allow Aethyta's implication to slide. She was still very much interested in how and why the Matriarch had been watching her and her mother.

“There aren’t a lot of places you or your mom go that I don’t know about, kid. It sounds a little creepy, but I don’t do it for a stupid reason. Nezzy could really get caught up in her little plans and alliances and crap and I knew if you were anything like her then you’d both end up somewhere you didn’t want to be eventually. Hell, I know how to find trouble myself, so you really don’t have great odds at staying out of it either,” Aethyta shrugged. Liara wondered at her nonchalant manner. Was she used to spying on others? Hadn't she said she had once been a spy for the Matriarchy? Perhaps this was something she was accustomed to doing everyday. Liara and Benezia were simply more personal targets for Aethyta.

Still, she was just as interested in learning about Aethyta's past as Aethyta seemed to be with her.

“You said in the facility that you were once a mercenary.”

“Heh,” Aethyta chuckled good naturedly, “that was a _long_ time ago. I’m actually a bartender now, more often than not. Still do a little spying for the Matriarchy occasionally, but things were as quiet as they can be around me until a few months ago. I had to call in a shit load of favors to figure out what Nezzy was up to. She managed to drop off my radar without me noticing. Still pissed about that.”

Aethyta's brow was furrowed as she scowled.

Liara had wondered for as long as she could remember if her other parent had ever wanted anything to do with her. Her mother had spoken of nothing about her other than the fact that she was another asari. Besides that, the only other information she was aware of about her father was Benezia’s pain when she used to bring up questions about Benezia’s former bondmate. Liara had assumed that her father had been ashamed of her, that she had likely left them if Benezia was still wounded over their relationship a century later.

Yet, Aethyta's expression did not seem to back up Liara's assumption. If she had not cared for them still, she would not be here. Liara had been so accustomed to drawing her own conclusions about the asari her mother had once bonded with, that to get conflicting observations was confusing and leaving her a bit out of her depth.

It was now apparent that her parents’ broken relationship was more complicated than she had assumed. Aethyta had saved her life on Noveria, and the Matriarch was doing everything she could to help her mother. By Aethyta's account, she had been watching them since her relationship with Liara’s mother had failed. However, if Aethyta cared so much, why had she not yet met Liara? Was she afraid of the stigma that was associated with Liara’s status as a pureblood? Aethyta did not seem the type that would care what others thought.

She wanted nothing more than to ask Aethyta these questions, but she did not know where to even begin in voicing them. She also did not want to get an answer she was afraid to hear. Perhaps it was easier not to know. Aethyta was here now, maybe that was the best Liara could hope for.

Better to focus on other matters.

“Why would you work for the Matriarchy if you do not care for them?” Liara wondered. It was something she had picked up from even their very first conversation. Aethyta's _obvious_ disdain for the other Matriarchs was… certainly unexpected. Not many asari would be so blatant in their disapproval. The Matriarchy was, perhaps, the brain of their government. Stepping in with their near boundless experience compared to maidens Liara's own age, and wisdom to aid her people in making the best decisions they possibly could. Perhaps it wasn't perfect, but it was what worked for them.

“Pay is good and I can get in some good fights every now and then. No one ever really expects a Matriarch to be a spy. They think we like to all sit on our asses all day and talk politics. Nezzy really shined there, but I find that crap boring as hell. The other Matriarchs don’t much like my ideas anyway,” Aethyta brushed off, seemingly uncaring. Liara couldn't help but spot a slight bitterness behind Aethyta's words, however.

“What were your ideas?” Liara asked curiously. Interested both because Aethyta was such a clear departure from a typical Matriarch and because Liara couldn't help but wonder at the source of Aethyta's bitterness.

“Fighting for one. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, kid, but we depend on a lot of the other races for our defense. Sure, our commandos can kick ass against anyone so long as they don’t have a shit ton of numbers, but what happens if we end up in a war? How are we going to translate spying and sabotage to fighting on the front lines? We sure as hell don’t have a proper navy. The Destiny Ascension can be the most powerful ship in the damn galaxy, but it won’t mean shit if it’s one of the few ships we got. We have to be able to stand on our own, hell I once suggested that we try to build our own mass relays. Nearly got the blue on my ass laughed off for that one,” Aethyta snorted.

“None of those ideas actually sound unreasonable,” Liara pointed out. Indeed, it would have been _fascinating_ to study the mass relays in more detail. Currently, all the Council races were content in assuming that they simply worked as design. Liara wanted to know how in the Goddess the Protheans had gotten such marvels of technology to work. “Though, it has been some time since our people have needed to fight in a proper war. Perhaps the Matriarchs see more gain from focusing on other areas besides the military so long as that holds true.”

“That’s exactly what they’re thinking and I’m gonna tell you why it’s a fool idea to have. You think the Matriarchy saw the Rachni Wars coming? The Krogan Rebellions?” Aethyta laughed humorlessly “Shit, if it weren’t for the turians, the krogan would have wiped us all out. The salarians and us make for crap front line soldiers and we weren’t prepared. I don’t care how good the turians are. Something can come around that they aren’t ready for. Why depend on them so heavily when, if we trained and prepared properly, we could kick ass just as good, if not better? It could make a damn good difference if that time came.”

Liara really couldn't see the drawbacks in Aethyta's opinions or why the other Matriarchs were so keen on dismissing her. Perhaps she had not presented these ideas as well as she could have, if her coarse language was how she always spoke to other people. Benezia certainly didn't take with this philosophy. Her mother believed in working with other species and keeping the peace with others. Maybe to avoid any war that Aethyta feared entirely. However, Liara couldn't help but think that such a course of action would simply put off the inevitable. Surely negotiating couldn't always solve one's problems. Then again, Liara wasn't particularly into politics herself, so she may not have had the best view of what the Forum currently believed.

“You are more insightful than you appear,” Liara decided to inform Aethyta, guessing that not many people told her so often. And then she blushed when she realized that her words could instead be misconstrued for her telling Aethyta that Liara had mistaken her for being unintelligent. “I mean, that is to say I don’t believe that you are unable to be insightful. I don’t think you are…. Goddess, I always do this.”

Liara shook her head, lamenting her poor habit. If it wasn't Shepard, then she was doing her utmost best to inadvertently ruin a… relationship with her long absent father.

“You don’t think I’m stupid is what you mean. Relax, Liara,” Aethtya chuckled. “I’ve heard it before and I’ll hear it again. Nezzy didn’t exactly see me as a shining example of smarts either when we first met. I know how I come across. I could say that it serves as a pretty good lesson that people come in different forms and crap like that, but that would mean I’m doing it on purpose. Truth is, I talk and act how I like because it’s just not in my nature to be serene and shit. Besides, the way I am is a damn good cover on my assignments. It’s just not profitable to act the part of a proper and dignified matriarch.”

Despite Aethyta's assurances, Liara couldn't help her boundless embarrassment. “I am sorry if I offended you.”

Her father only laughed however. The Matriarch truly was far different than she could have expected. Liara felt guilty that she had assumed Aethyta to be rather unintelligent based on her mannerisms at first glance. It was just not how other Matriarchs, scholars or even Liara’s colleagues acted. She was more in line with the pirates and mercenaries she had come across on her digs or with Shepard and none of them were of any particular worth. Aethyta was obviously more than what her appearance would imply.

“Maybe you did. Maybe I hoped my kid wouldn’t judge me so quickly. Nezzy should have hammered her manners into you early if I know her,” Aethyta said, seemingly seriously, but there was an unfamiliar glint in her eyes that Liara couldn't quite place.

“Oh, she did! I am just not very good at this. I often say things I do not mean. It is why—No, you are joking aren’t you?” Liara asked suspiciously. She wondered just how much teasing she was going to be in for with both Shepard and Aethyta around.

Her sense of humor was improving at noticing jokes and sarcasm with Shepard around and Aethyta’s features were mirroring the human’s when she teased her very closely. The smirk was there and she had finally registered that faint trace of amusement under the offended tone the other asari had adopted.

“It’s too easy to rattle you,” Aethyta finally laughed outright. “I’m not offended, kid. It’ll take a lot more than that to get under my skin, so don’t worry about it.” The mirth cleared from her face as Aethyta suddenly sobered. “Look, I’d really like to talk with you more, but I think we need to figure out where we’re gonna go from here. I figured out you weren’t wrong about that indoctrination shit.”

Concern spiked in Liara's chest. Had Aethyta discovered more about her mother's position? Liara hoped so. At this point, any information, good or bad, was better than having none at all. She had never heard of indoctrination and she doubted anyone else in the galaxy has either. That meant finding any treatment or, dare Liara hope, cure, extremely improbably. She did not want to think about what that would mean for her mother if they were unable to find any information on this debilitating affliction. Goddess, her mother had been a near stranger on Noveria, it was something Liara _never_ wanted to see again.

“Did you speak with Mother?” Liara asked, unable to keep the sheer concern from her tone and not particularly wanting to.

“Yeah,” Aethyta sighed, looking suddenly worried, and Liara did not want to consider what that could mean. “It wasn’t fun. I did manage to help her out a bit, pushed whatever the hell is in her head away from her mind, but it’s not going to last if I don’t do it often.”

“Do you mean a meld?” Liara was very much intrigued. She had helping Shepard with her Prothean vision through the meld. It was tiring to meld with someone who had such a stark difference to an asari mind, but yet it proved much easier than Liara would have guessed. She was Benezia's daughter, they had certainly melded before together and Liara very much doubted she had forgotten the landscape of her mother's mind since they stopped speaking to each other. She hoped that her new experience in dealing with a knowledge meld that was not at all typical could be used to help her mother in turn. “Perhaps I could help as well. Mother and I haven’t melded since we stopped speaking, but I am sure I can do something too.”

Aethtya's expression suddenly turned dark, and Liara wondered what she could have possibly said to inspire it. All she wanted was to assist Benezia, something she thought was certainly understandable from where she stood. “Sorry, kid, but that’s not going to happen.”

“But—“ Liara tried protesting, tried telling Aethyta that she was terrified to lose her mother again to that… being on Noveria. However, Aethyta was quick to interrupt her.

“ _No,”_ Aethyta snapped, and then sighed at Liara's involuntary wince. “Look, I know it sucks to see Nezzy like that and I’m going to do whatever I have to, but that shit that’s in her head was _nothing_ I’ve ever come across. It was really fucking everything up in her mind and it could take us both out if we’re not careful in dealing with it. I’ve had a lot of practice with messing with people’s heads, but you’re what? Barely above a hundred? One wrong move and I could lose you both and that’s _not_ an option.”

“I do not want to stand by and watch as my mother is taken away from me by Saren!” Liara exclaimed. She did not know what could possibly so difficult to deal with in Benezia's mind, but she was hoping that Aethyta was simply being overprotective. As such, she was not about to allow her to dictate how Liara was going to aid her own mother. Goddess, Benezia was under the grips of _mind control._ She was going to need all the help that she could get. “I want to help her and you do not have a right to stop me from trying. You have not been Benezia’s bondmate for some time.”

What right did Aethyta have to dictate what Liara could do, anyway? Since she had shown up on Noveria, the Matriarch has demanded that she have responsibility over her mother, responsibility she would have had if she and Benezia were still bonded. Liara did not know how their relationship ended, but it had ended and she did not much relish how Aethyta had stormed into their lives and demanded that she make decisions for them.

“Maybe I don’t,” Aethyta's jaw tightened, but she seemed unwilling to rise to Liara's words at the moment. “But Nezzy is in Shepard’s custody. No one can see her unless she says so, as fucking annoying as that is. She was real reluctant to let me talk to you, protective I’d say, actually. Don’t think she’d be too excited to let you see Nezzy at all if I told her you wanted to be a dumbass and throw your life away.”

Aethyta was glaring at her sternly and Liara tried not to bristle at the thought that perhaps the Matriarch was now attempting to essentially blackmail her because of what she had implied about Aethyta and Benezia's bonding. Aethyta did not seem the type to be so vindictive, she was shockingly upfront about her thoughts, but Liara did not know Aethyta. Not at all, and that went both ways, Liara realized. Since that was the case, Liara thought that Aethyta had even less of a right to start making choices for Liara. She did not need a protector.

“Shepard wouldn’t do that,” Liara said decisively. Aethyta did know Shepard either. “She knows how I feel about my mother.”

“She would if she’s got a crush on you. I know how to play people, kid. You should have seen the way the human was looking at me before I came in here. If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were Embracing Eternity and shit with each other,” Aethyta said suspiciously and Liara tried not to react to how closely Aethyta had hit the mark with her guesses. It wasn't something she wanted to get into with her, let alone Benezia herself. Liara had the urge to keep this new development in her life private for now. “Anyway, don’t think I won’t use that to my advantage, ‘cause I don’t fight fair.”

“Is this how you deal with the Matriarchs? I can’t imagine they enjoy speaking with you if so,” Liara said, ignoring how sullen she sounded. She would concede to Aethyta's demands. For now. However, she _would_ be speaking directly with Benezia about this. Liara wasn't about to allow her absentee father to tell her how she and her mother were going to interact. Benezia would make the final decision, no one else.

“Believe it not I’ve never had to bust their heads over anything like this. But yeah, I’m going to force them to see things my way,” Aethyta told her, choosing to take her words literally. “Nezzy doesn’t deserve what they would do to her if Shepard hands her over. Especially now that we know Saren fucked her up.”

“I would still like to see Mother,” Liara insisted.

“Fine,” Aethyta shrugged, “but I’m going with you. It’s about time we all had a talk together anyway.”

Liara was still angry. She did not like the feeling of helplessness she had. She wanted to _do_ something, and someone she had never met in her entire life before now was forbidding her from action. She hated that Aethyta was likely right about Shepard as well. They had grown very close and she highly doubted the commander would ever want to see her harmed. She knew that Shepard was aware that Liara could certainly take care of herself in a combat situation, but it was possible that Aethyta was either, admittedly, right about the danger a meld with Benezia posed, or that she would lie about that danger to keep Liara from taking action. Either way, what right did she have?


	7. Chapter 7

Benezia did not expect to see her daughter or Aethyta again so soon. Shamefully, she did not want to. Already she was guilty of attempting to murder her own daughter in cold blood among many other terrible atrocities. She wanted to be left to her thoughts more than anything. Or, at least, what little she could have without interference. Unfortunately, Benezia knew that she now had little say in what was to happen to her. Not with Shepard holding her in custody and with Aethyta’s sheer bone headedness.

Liara hesitantly approached her cell. Benezia did not blame her. Goddess, she tried to _kill_ her own daughter. “Mother?”

“I am here, Liara," Benezia said with a calm she did not particularly feel.

It was for the best that she not let either know how she felt at the moment. Aethyta was likely to act even more rash than she typically does if she learned that Benezia was perfectly willing to give herself up for her crimes. Death was what she deserved for all she had done, but Liara need not know that was how she felt either. Already she had put her Little Wing through more than she deserved. Perhaps she could talk more sense into Commander Shepard.

“Aethyta told me you were feeling better," her daughter said hopefully. Benezia did not see much reason to crush that hope, even if it was not real. "That she was able to help you gain a little more control.”

Still, Aethyta _had_ helped with the actual indoctrination. Benezia did not particularly _feel_ better emotionally, but she could concede that the pounding in her head had lessened somewhat. “She was, though it will not last long without constant reinforcement.”

But, it seemed Benezia's words surprisingly rallied Liara. Her daughters gaze hardened in a rare show of stubbornness. “I could help you as well. I do not enjoy seeing you under Saren’s control. I do not blame you for what has happened, Mother, you were not under your own will. Please let me try to keep you from him.”

Aethyta stepped forward then, glaring at Liara. “Shit, kid, what did I _just_ tell you?”

“We should let her decide whether I can meld with her. She _is_ my mother," Liara snapped back angrily.

What was this? Were they actually arguing with each other? What had happened since Aethyta had last visited with her? Benezia would not have thought that Liara would be this forward with Aethyta this quickly.

The… _presence_ within her lashed out at her very thoughts of her daughter, and Benezia could feel a clammy grip of fear grasp her chest.

_**It would be nothing less than she deserves.** _

It had been seemingly disproportionately obsessed with Liara since it had first taken actual control of Benezia's body. She did not know if that was because of Liara's work with the Protheans, and Saren's interest in that very subject, or if it realized that her daughter was her weakest link. Perhaps both. Benezia would give _anything_ for Liara if it meant protecting her. Perhaps up to and including her very autonomy.

But that had nearly spelt the end of Liara in the end, regardless of what Benezia's intentions had been. How could she have been _so foolish?_

Aethyta's irritated response ripped Benezia from her dark thoughts. “Yeah, and she’s not thinking straight. Fuck, kid, is this some kind of boundary test or some crap? I got other kids and a couple of them have tried pulling this rebellious shit on me too. You don’t like that I’m your dad or something? Cause tough tits, I am and I’m the only one thinking worth a damn in this room so I’m telling you no.”

Yet, the presence would not be so easily ignored. It almost seemed to grip Benezia's very mind to focus her attention back on to it.

_**We called her to join us. She went to aid our enemy instead.** _

Was… did it think Benezia would be willing to consider this line of thinking? Saren had not truly been her ally in any way. Benezia had accompanied him to end his plans to attack humanity. At the time, it had been the only thing she had known of his plans. She had not known just how much worse they were to become.

However, these past several weeks had led Benezia down an increasingly faster spiral into darkness. Those thoughts _were_ what she had been thinking. Had she not told Shepard and Liara on Noveria that Liara was essentially to be punished for defying her? And with a shudder, Benezia realized that such punishment was probably going to be lethal while she was a thrall within the grasp of this _thing_. Goddess, this presence's cajoling had led her down a path that nearly destroyed the one person in this galaxy she cared the most for, and she was still wondering if it truly had an affect on her. Benezia was in denial, and Liara was hopelessly naive if she thought that she could go _anywhere near_ Benezia's mind without being harmed. No, that was unfair. Liara did not know the extent of corruption of her very mind, she was trying to help.

Benezia would not allow it. Period.

“This is not petty rebellion! I deserve to be able to help where I can and you are the one that has just _shown up_ and demanded responsibility over us! I have never met you in my life and Mother has not spoken to you in over a century. What right do you have over _anything_ that you demand?” Liara exclaimed furiously.

_**You can allow her to get close enough for punishment and deliver it before your bondmate can act.** _

She… she very well could and Liara would never be able to properly react. Just as she had frozen on Noveria as Benezia had moved to attack her with her biotics. Biotics that Liara had not yet been able to match. She would be as easily overwhelmed within Benezia's mind as she had on Peak 15. And Aethyta would not be interfering in a meld as she had physically in the station.

The thought had her brutally and fiercely re-shoring her mental defenses far more effectively than she had ever been able to before.

“ _No!”_

The presence recoiled in her mind almost curiously. Seemingly amused as it observed Benezia's new found resistance. They both knew that she could not resist forever. She had fallen before and would do so again. It was only a matter of time.

Liara and Aethyta immediately ceased their argument at her outburst. Had they met like this in any other circumstance, Benezia would have been secretly amused in the reactions Aethyta could get from their daughter. She had very rarely heard Liara ever get upset enough to speak in anger. The girl was very good at avoiding confrontation but Aethyta was just the opposite. Argumentative was not how she would typically describe Liara, at all. Though it seemed Aethyta could bring that out in anyone. This would be much more pleasant if the two weren’t looking at her now in grave concern.

“You okay, Nezzy? Need me to go in there again?”

Benezia could feel the indoctrination still within her. It was hardly going to leave any time soon, if at all. However, it seemed to have backed off for now. Content to wait for a time when she would be more susceptible to its influence. “N—No. I will be fine for now. It does not have any real control, but it does wish to manipulate me. There is likely nothing that can be done for that. Not right now. Liara, I know that you are concerned, but I cannot allow you to get close to me right now. It wants you and I am ashamed to say that I may not be able to stop it if we were to meld.”

The shame seemed to echo within her over and over again. Melding was something all asari did and one of the first melds their people ever took part in over the course of their long lives were between mother and daughter. To teach and share what it was to be asari. Benezia wondered if she would ever be able to share a meld with her daughter again.

“I have been doing more knowledge melds now,” Liara said hopefully. Was she? With who? Benezia had not thought she had gotten close enough to anyone in their separation to meld with another. “Perhaps you do not need to worry about that if I can keep the indoctrination at bay.”

“Little Wing, it is far more powerful than you can imagine. Please, do not think that you could withstand it. Older, more experienced asari have already succumbed to its control. If you cannot understand that, then know that I could not possibly be able to withstand even the risk of losing you to its taint,” Benezia winced as the memory of Liara's shocked and distraught expression flashed before her. No, she was not about to forget that she had tried to murder her daughter any time soon. If ever. “Aethyta has a far better chance of not being swept away by Saren’s influence.”

Liara crossed her arms as a bitter undertone streaked into her voice. “Is everything else Aethyta claimed true as well then?”

Benezia wondered just what her daughter and Aethyta had been talking about. Liara did not seem to be taking to her father quickly. Perhaps that was to be expected after being separated for her entire life. She did not want to think about how sad that truly was. “She was my bondmate and is your other parent, yes.”

“What did you see in each other?” Liara asked in complete and utter confusion. “Neither of you seem alike in any way.”

They got that a lot. The truth was more obvious than most considered. Liara likely only saw Aethyta's crass and rude surface. Well, she was still crass and rude beneath, but there was so much more to her bondmate than most would ever guess or consider.

“Opposites attract and some of that other cliché crap. It wasn’t love at first sight or anything. Took some time to get her to even come drinking with me,” Aethyta shot a mischievous wink towards Benezia and she wondered what silliness Aethyta was up to. “Whew, Nezzy, you can’t hold your liquor worth a damn. I still think you were a dancer in your maiden days.”

Ah, _that_ old joke again. “That is not how I would describe the early days of our relationship. Not even remotely,” Benezia drawled in exasperation.

“How would you know? Not my fault you got blackout drunk that time. Shit, that was when I knew we could work,” Aethyta smirked. “Once you let me know you weren’t as straight laced as you came across, then all bets were off.”

“You are incorrigible. And that is still not what had happened,” Benezia refuted flatly. No, what _she_ remembered was a rather nice night where Aethyta had taken her to dinner and acted far more polite, and, dare she say, sweet than Benezia would have ever expected her to be. Of course, polite and sweet were rather relative with Aethyta. Benezia staunchly ignored the fact that they _had_ become inebriated. And that she _did, maybe,_ have a difficult time remembering what had happened after that. She was _sure_ it was nothing like Aethyta claimed, though. “We would clash very often in the Forum, Liara. Heated debates that actually garnered more dislike towards each other than you would expect. It was actually quite surprising. We had gotten into an argument outside of the Forum one afternoon and Aethyta asked me to come with her to “blow off some steam” as she described it. I accepted before I knew what had happened.”

“Then came the drinking and the stripper dancing,” Aethyta added as she wriggled her brow teasingly.

“Why do you insist upon that?” Benezia asked, she had been wondering for decades. She wasn't sure she wanted the answer, however. “It has been over two hundred years and yet you insist on holding on to that joke. It is far past its prime.”

Aethyta shrugged, adopting that irritating habit she had of acting as if what she said was rather obvious. “Cause it’s what happened, babe. But, hey, hold on to your decorum and shit if you want. I know what happened and it was hot as hell. Liara can believe whatever she wants. Just know, kid, that your mom isn’t as prim and proper as you think she is.”

One hundred years since they had spoken and still Aethyta was talented at giving her headaches. Poor Liara looked completely out of her element. She likely did not relish the thought of her mother as a dancer, whether it was true or not. Honestly, it was not this side of Aethyta, per se, that lead to their separation. She could handle the crude jokes, and, admittedly, she found some of them amusing from time to time.

A shiver went down her back as the voice made itself known again. It seemed that while it was content to leave her mental barriers be for now, it was still going to take pleasure in taunting her if it felt the desire to do so.

_**She would have interrupted your service earlier if she had the opportunity. It was right to leave her.** _

Liara was looking at Aethyta disbelievingly. Well, there was something to say for small favors. “That does not sound like Mother at all.”

“I know which was why it was so hot at the time. I thought she was as stuffy as the rest of the Matriarchs, but _shit_ did she prove me wrong that night. _That rack,_ ” Aethyta was grinning widely as she made a crude cupping motion with her hands at her own breasts and mimed lifting them up and down obscenely. “You’ve still got it, Nezzy.”

“ _Aethyta.”_

Benezia could feel the heat rise in her face at the sight. Uncertain if she felt appalled that Aethyta would be so shameless to act so crudely in front of their daughter—and she knew she was fooling herself with that thought; Aethyta would act as she would—or flattered that she still apparently had an affect on her former bondmate. Goddess, _this_ was largely the main reason for their initial attraction. Sex appeal certainly had its place in the galaxy and Benezia could not pretend that Aethyta did— _had_ not affected her in a similar manner.

Liara had practically gone purple in mortification. Benezia had not _ever_ witnessed her poor daughter so embarrassed before. “I do not need to know everything!”

Benezia knew Aethyta did this on purpose. Aethyta had once told her that she was far too easy to rile up. Unfortunately, despite knowing her ex-bondmate’s intentions, she still fell for her mischief, especially when she did it in front of others. Aethyta was quite correct in that their relationship could become very passionate; however, Liara did not need to know that. She seemed to take perverse pleasure in making Benezia uncomfortable, and with Liara being very similar to Benezia in this regard, she foresaw much more teasing. And poor Liara had none of the experience in dealing with her father as Benezia had.

It was the impatient desire to change the subject as quickly as possible as much as curiosity about Aethyta's plan for Liara that had her moving on.

“What is Liara to do while you presumably set up my freedom from the Matriarchy?” Benezia certainly hoped that Aethyta had thought of something instead of focusing all of her attention on her fruitless desire to prove her innocence.

“Hopefully dig for more Prothean stuff or go back to your estate. You still got commandos that would look after her, right?” Aethyta seemed concerned at the thought, likely guessing that Benezia had taken the vast majority of them with her on what had become a suicide mission. Goddess, she had known so many of them for _so long…_.

_**You cannot keep her from me.** _

“I do, and that would probably be for the best,” Benezia's jaw tightened slightly in the effort to avoid reacting to that voice. Perhaps it would stop mocking her with its threats and frightening determination to obtain her daughter for whatever it wanted if she did not give it much mind. She knew that would prove far more difficult than simply wishing it so. It was in her very thoughts and could very well read her real feelings on its interruptions if it felt the need. “Saren wanted her for her knowledge of the Protheans. It would be better if she were to go back to the T’Soni Estate until he is brought into custody.”

“I wish to do neither of those things,” Liara interrupted their planning quietly, yet firmly. She was frowning at them both in determination. Benezia did not think this was going to bode well.

“What are you talking about, kid?” Aethyta asked suspiciously, apparently spotting Liara's stubbornness for what it was, just as Benezia had.

“I told you both that I would like to help in whatever way that I can, so I want to assist Commander Shepard,” their daughter said with an odd gleam to her eye.

Benezia had not previously seen it before and she wondered at what it could mean. However, that was rather irrelevant for now. Liara had just given her much more reason to fear for her safety. Goddess, she wanted Liara as far away from Saren's grasp as she could possibly get. Did she not understand the grave danger she was in? Probably not, Benezia realized with a heavy dread.

“ _Fuck_ no.”

“Absolutely _not_.”

They had both exclaimed in unison and if their circumstances were not so grave, Benezia would have been able to appreciate their first ever staunch agreement in their daughter's well being.

“It is what I have been doing for the past couple of months and I have been doing quite well if Shepard is to be believed. Saren must be stopped; he is a danger to everyone in the galaxy. Besides, she needs my knowledge of the Protheans to make sense of the beacon. It is likely the only advantage over Saren that she has,” Liara protested stubbornly and Benezia knew then that it would be no easy task to convince her young and foolish daughter to abandon this mission.

Why did everything have to come back to the Protheans?

"Damn, Liara, become a mercenary if you want to get shot at. It’s hell of a lot safer than joining a damn Spectre of all things,” Aethyta shot back in frustration. She probably had a point. Benezia did not believe she knew very many Spectres herself. And she had certainly been around the galaxy.

“Actually, it is the mercenaries that have been coming to unfortunate ends rather than anyone on this ship,” her daughter informed them, as if to put their minds to rest that she had been testing her very, _very_ limited combat experience against a horde of mercenaries since joining Commander Shepard. Goddess, was she this stressful to deal with at Liara's age? If so, then Benezia was certainly feeling guilty for the strain she must have caused her own poor mother. “I have been much safer here than anywhere else if Saren truly wants me for his plans.”

“Liara, working with a Spectre is fraught with danger,” Benezia tried to reason with her, wondering why it was so difficult to convince her daughter to listen to sense. She knew that the Protheans were important to Liara, but why did she feel the need to join Shepard's ground team? “I do not relish the idea of my daughter going off with one while I am incarcerated.”

“Yeah, listen to your mom, kid,” Aethyta nodded firmly in agreement. “She should know.”

“I have several reasons as to why I would like to continue on with Shepard. I am a Prothean researcher. I have dedicated my life to discovering what happened to them. How can I walk away from what appears to be a mission that could lead to some of the greatest discoveries of their history to date? No one has ever mentioned the Conduit!” Liara's voice had steadily grown more eager as she gave them her reasons and it had Benezia sighing tiredly.

Of course. Liara had always taken an interest in the past; particularly with the Protheans of all things. Even as a child she was obsessed with learning everything about them, and could get up to mischief if left unattended. Benezia had hoped she would eventually grow out of her interest. And she still could considering that Liara was still a maiden. Aethyta was right in that Benezia had once taken to several hobbies at Liara’s age that did not necessarily reflect her stately appearance as a Matriarch. For several reasons she hoped that her daughter would abandon her profession. It was filled with its own brand of danger, and honestly it was not what she wanted for Liara. Little Wing was so intelligent and Benezia had raised her with what she considered were the best morals that she could impart. She could be an excellent leader if she weren’t so anti-social and shy. It was something that Benezia could only hope her daughter would grow out of. Unfortunately, she had once made a promise to allow the girl to go her own way. Something she was rather regretting with everything that has happened.

Aethyta blinked at their daughter for several moments. Almost as if she couldn't believe what she was hearing. Well, she was certainly getting a taste of what Benezia had been dealing with for the past 50 years. “’Dedicated your life?’ Liara, you’re _106_ for fuck’s sake! There’s a crap ton of time to figure out what happened to a bunch of dead people. Instead you want to get buddy-buddy with a damn Spectre and for what? That you _might_ discover some shit about the Protheans? That you _might_ survive messing with a rogue Spectre? That you _might_ get in Shepard’s pants?”

“Shepard’s _what_?” Benezia exclaimed in sheer shock at Aethyta's last words. Surely that couldn't be true. She had to have heard that incorrectly. Aethyta certainly must be mistaken.

“They got the hots for each other, Nezzy,” Aethyta explained, further fueling Benezia's surprise. Her Little Wing had finally found someone she was interested in? How had she not noticed? “That’s probably half the damn reason the kid wants to stay.”

Liara had turned purple again, “That is none of your concern!”

Unfortunately, that was probably the most incriminating statement Liara could have made. Benezia could see that Aethyta spoke the truth just by looking at her daughter’s face. It was flushed dramatically with both embarrassment and anger. This was a very surprising development. Liara had never shown interest in anyone romantically previously. Not that she knew of, and she was certain that she would have heard at least something if that had changed while she and Liara were out of contact.

Before all of this, Benezia had once thought that she was blessed with a daughter that had thankfully not had as many, or as dramatic, maiden traits that other asari mothers were burdened with. She had once been told that this could be a very trying stage of both her and Liara’s lives. Benezia was certainly guilty of driving her own mother to worry and she knew that Aethyta definitely had a checkered past. Liara, however, was practically angelic compared to them. It appeared that would soon change. Granted, that did not mean she would simply allow this to happen.

_**She could fall right into my grasp with Shepard.** _

She _would not_ react.

“I agree with Aethyta. There is little reason for you to join forces with Shepard. She is heading to confront Saren and even the whispers in my mind are aware that could be playing straight into his plans.” Benezia paused then, trying to determine the best way to reason with her daughter. There was no reason to risk everything for what was very much likely a fleeting first love. “You are young and there is plenty of time to study the Conduit _after_ Shepard deals with Saren. There is no need to throw away your life for a crush, Little Wing.”

However, if Benezia thought that this would convince Liara, she was dreadfully wrong. Almost as soon as the words had left her mouth, she had known they were exactly the wrong ones to say. Liara's face had hardened as she visibly closed herself off to them both. Why was it that she found it far easier to cajole and negotiate with hundreds of stubborn, elitist, and somewhat pretentious Matriarchs centuries upon centuries of years old, but her own daughter was beyond her reasoning?

“I suppose it is not surprising that you would both disregard my feelings as silly rebellion and youth,” their daughter said coldly. “It is fortunate that Shepard has already given her permission for me to join her crew. I will aid Shepard because I wish to and while you are incapacitated, Mother, I am afraid that there is not much you can do to change that.”

Liara did not storm out of the room. Benezia did not raise her to display her temper in that way. However, considering that and her quiet personality, she may as well have. Benezia was not sure how much more shock she was expected to take. This was not normal rebellion for Liara. She had practically forbidden her daughter from this course of action and Liara had all but told her to “stuff it” as Aethyta would probably say. She was starting to believe that her ex-bondmate was correct. Liara was very taken with this Shepard.


	8. Chapter 8

"Well shit." Aethyta said as she rubbed her head in frustration.

Benezia sighed. "That is not inaccurate."

Her words only made Aethyta bristle at her. "Why the hell does the kid even know how to fight so well? I thought that wasn't 'proper' and crap."

What the hell? Nezzy had spent all that time bitching at her over fighting, and then she teaches the kid how to fucking dominate with her biotics! Of all the issues she and Nezzy disagreed over, why did it have to be  _this_  one that she changed her damn mind over?

"You do not think it prudent that she know how to defend herself from whatever she may come across on her digs? That is rather surprising coming from you," Nezzy drawled in what almost sounded like amusement. Dammit, this wasn't a game.

"That doesn't mean you had to make sure she could fight like a fucking commando! Shepard would still probably take Liara with her if she couldn't fight as well as she can, but at least she would probably be staying on the damn ship instead of getting shot at," Aethyta pinched the bridge of her nose. Goddess-damn it all, the kid is an  _archeologist._  She didn't need to be going off to fucking war with a ship full of soldiers. It would be different if the kid had an actual military or even mercenary background, but shit, that just wasn't the case. She was going to get her fool self hurt or worse.

It certainly didn't help her mood that Nezzy was right. By all accounts she would not be normally speaking like this. Aethyta loved fighting. Probably more than she should, but it sure as hell beat sitting on her ass all day. But that didn't mean she necessarily liked the kid fighting. She was like Nezzy. Just because they could both Warp the faces off some mercs, didn't mean that they needed to go off and join fucking Spectres. Damn them, they were the reason Liara and Nezzy were in this mess. All she really wanted was that they knew how to take care of themselves. Only, both had proven that while they could damn well fight, they also didn't have a damn lick of sense.

"I see that you are not trying to keep her from this course," Nezzy snapped back.

Aethyta gave a bitter laugh. "You've got to be kidding. Liara isn't going to listen to me worth a damn. The kid doesn't even like me. If she could tell you to fuck off, what chance do I got?" Aethyta tried to ignore the dull anger in her chest. Fuck, if things were only different. "I could try to knock some sense into her, but we're on a damn Alliance frigate. One wrong move and Shepard will have me and my girls out of the airlock. 'Course, I could probably take the human, but where would that leave you? Your bitch 'friends' are still looking to screw you over."

"Aethyta, stop concerning yourself with me," Nezzy's shoulders seemed to slump at the rekindling of this old fucking argument. As far as Aethyta was concerned, this matter had been settled. If Nezzy wanted to torture herself by rehashing it over and over again, that was fine; Aethyta wasn't fucking leaving. "I will only get what I deserve, but Liara does not know what she is getting herself into. Saren is dangerous and I would much rather you focus your attention on keeping her from him instead of your foolish desire of protecting me from due course."

"I'm not giving up on either of you," Aethyta grounded out, "so you can forget that shit. Nezzy, you're the one that has a nearly guaranteed death sentence lying over your head. If all else fails, then I can, ah,  _convince_  Shepard into protecting Liara. She certainly has a good reason to do that anyway," Aethyta grimaced at that, thinking of the kid's stupid as hell crush on a human military commander. "You, on the other hand, don't have shit besides me."

If she was forced to, she would have to let Liara go with Shepard. The kid had a point. She was already on the Normandy; she already had the human's support. Aethyta was not confident that if she pushed the issue, Shepard would continue humoring her with Nezzy. And that could kill her ex-bondmate. Liara and her fool sense still had a good chance at getting out okay if left to her own devices. She had seen what she, Shepard and the quarian had done to Nezzy's commandos and her geth allies. It was admittedly damn impressive. Nezzy wouldn't like it one bit, and she wasn't going to be overjoyed either, but if she couldn't talk the kid or Shepard out of this shit, then that would be the end of it. No, Aethyta wasn't going to like that outcome one bit.

Nezzy's temper rallied, despite how hard she'd been trying to give up lately. Good, Nezzy was about as stubborn as Aethyta herself was, but she had a damn annoying habit of giving up when things turned to shit. Aethyta wasn't going to let her quit this time. "I cannot believe that you would rather save me than protect Liara! Aethyta, I know that you can be rash, but this is beyond foolish. Even for you!"

"Don't start with that shit, Nezzy," she growled. Dammit,  _she_  wasn't the one who walked away, Benezia T'Soni wasn't about to lecture her about choosing between  _anybody._  "You know I would do anything for both of you, so don't try to say otherwise. I'm doing everything I can to fix this crap and you want to act like this is my fault. Bullshit. Maybe if you hadn't tried to act so damn noble and forgot about Saren, then maybe we wouldn't be here. Or maybe if you had let me even so much as fucking talk to Liara while she was growing up, I could make her stop with her crap. But we both know that you just had to have your way. So don't blame me cause all that shit finally caught up to you and you're pissed because you can't fix it by yourself. I certainly didn't ask for this."

"And I do not recall asking to be spied upon. If you believe that I set out to stop Saren because I wished to simply be  _noble_  then you are mistaken. I am not the one that has simply given up her duty to spend the rest of her life in a bar of all things," Nezzy shot back. Aethyta had to try not to laugh in her face. Gave up her duty, did she? That was  _fucking_  rich. Who's fault was that really? "I recognized that Saren could be a grave threat to humanity and I acted. It is more than you have done since we separated. As for Liara, do you really think that you have been the best model for her with all you have done, or rather haven't done since she was born? It is not my fault that you refuse to see reason over the crimes I have committed. Do not try to blame that on my nonexistent feelings of superiority over you, Aethyta."

"You know I did plenty of shit for the Matriarchy. I fucking  _retired_ , at  _your_  Goddess-damned insistence, not gone back to my maiden days for fuck's sake. If you knew Saren was so bad, why not let the humans in on it? You were arrogant, Nezzy. You thought you could take care of him on your own and you fucked up and took a lot of people down with you. I know you're pissed about that, even if you won't admit it.

"And Liara? You want to pull the bad parent card?" Aethyta snorted. "That's shit and you know it. I raised my girls right, in fact, they're far better asari than I am. I don't know why you kept Liara from me, but you had no real right. Didn't even fucking ask me."

"You did not ask me to stay. If I remember correctly, you let me leave and did not get in contact with me again. What am I to believe of what you thought of our bonding or whether you cared for our daughter? I did what I thought was best for us and Liara," Nezzy hissed.

Oh-ho, was that right?  _Aethyta_  was the one who didn't give a shit about their bonding? About their daughter? Well, Nezzy could take that bullshit and shove it up her pretty, blue ass.

"No, you did what you thought was best for the Goddess damned Matriarchy. It was always about them or our people or your fucking alliances. I wasn't good enough for any of that shit, so you gave up on what you thought was the easiest to let go. Isn't that what you said that last day?" Aethyta shouted. "I was the fucking weak-link? You're gonna sit there and have the fucking balls to  _dare_  say that I was the one who stopped caring? I suddenly wasn't fucking good enough? After one hundred years? And,  _of course,_  you couldn't let the kid talk to me, that would be a damn shame for her to be seen with the shit stirrer. Or maybe it would draw attention to that  _fucking_  pureblood stigma. Fuck that damn word."

Nezzy's eyes were like ice as she twisted that same fucking knife she'd left in Aethyta's back 106 years ago. "I would not have put it so bluntly, but no. You were not good enough for her."

And yet, there were a few cracks in that frost.

Nezzy almost got her. Nearly. She knew how to really manipulate people into giving her what she wanted when she tried. In this case, she wanted Aethyta to leave. She was going to throw shit at her until Aethyta left and gave up on her. Nezzy was using that damn tone with her again. The one reserved for their shittiest arguments, the one she'd used in their very last argument, and she almost got Aethyta to really fucking unload on her. If it weren't for the fact that Aethyta could read her ex like a damn book, then they really would have gotten into it in front of the poor guards that wanted to be anywhere but with the two of them going at each other like damn maidens.

Aethyta stared her down, waiting until those cracks in her shitty demeanor gaped open and forced Nezzy to break eye contact. Two could play at this fucking game. "You've gotten sloppy. Don't know if it's cause of the damn indoctrination or because you've been manipulating the kid instead of me over the years. Sorry, Nezzy, I'm not as clueless about this stuff as Liara. You aren't going to get me to leave over a damn argument. Especially one where you don't even believe what you're saying. It's fucked up that you won't give me the real damn reason why you left, but it's not going to be that easy to make me go. I'm staying, so find a way to deal with it."

She could see the muscles in Nezzy's jaw clenching as she glared at her. "You are impossible and incredibly foolish. I will not forgive you if your desire to protect me harms Liara. She is all I care to see safe now."

"Good thing that's not going to happen, then. Nezzy, I care about her too. I'm sorry if you don't see that, but we don't have a lot of options right now," Aethyta sighed, wishing now that they would quit going for each other's throats. Fuck, if she didn't miss the way Nezzy used to look at her. She used to think Aethyta was the damned center of her world, and hell, she once felt the same. Maybe she still... no, she wasn't going to go down  _that_ road. Not anymore. "The kid's an adult, she can take care of herself if it comes to that. But believe me when I say that I'm going to try my fucking hardest to make sure she doesn't go with Shepard."

Whatever Nezzy was going to say was cut off when the elevator sounded. Aethyta was actually sort of glad that someone, likely Shepard, was coming down to get in the middle of this stupid argument. She didn't actually like arguing with Nezzy after all. Debating was all well and good, banter was fun, better if she could convince Nezzy to get drunk and then do it, but arguing was a pain in the ass. They were both too damn stubborn to fix anything when they did it, and it always ended up with them worse off than they started.

Shepard stepped out and Aethyta honestly wasn't sure if she was happy or pissed to see her, now that she was actually here. Damn human was everywhere and she still couldn't tell if she actually liked Shepard yet. "Sorry to interrupt, but the asari councilor wanted you to know that she wanted to speak with you in an hour, Aethyta."

_Great._ Aethyta could only imagine how that was going to go.

"Commander Shepard, I would like to know when you plan to release me to the Citadel or my people's custody," Nezzy demanded quickly. Probably hoping she could intimidate Shepard into doing what she wanted with her damn near infinite experience in negotiating compared to Shepard's relatively short lifetime. Ha, if she thought the human was going to fall for that shit, she had another thing coming. Shepard was damn stubborn, much to Aethyta's annoyance in most cases. This one? Well, she was happy to see it here.

Still, that didn't mean she was just going to stand there as Nezzy demanded to get her fool self killed. "Don't answer that, Shepard. She's all weepy and shit cause she wants to 'answer for her crimes' and crap like that. I'm trying to get it in her head that we're helping her, but she's too damn stubborn to listen."

Shepard was looking from Aethyta to Nezzy like she wasn't quite sure what she walked in on. Probably wasn't too great to get in the middle of the girlfriend's parents' spats, but it couldn't be helped, and Aethyta didn't really care regardless. If she wanted to play house with Liara, she better know what she was going to be in for.

"I am stubborn?" Nezzy questioned in disbelief. "Aethyta, you are not the one known for cooperation and compromise."

"Ha, if only the people you've 'compromised' with knew what they really agreed to when they signed your treaties. Or have you forgotten  _our_ last round in the Forum?" Aethyta asked harshly, taking pleasure in the way Nezzy winced at the harsh reminder of that day. Good, at least she knew she wasn't the only one who still thought of that shit session. "You're real good at getting people to see your side, even if it's not that great a trade for them."

"I have never done such a thing!" Nezzy protested hotly, ignoring Aethyta's other example for the moment. "If it were to become known that the asari were manipulating the other races then it would only harm our relations in the long run."

She couldn't help her eye roll. Fine, if Nezzy wanted to think she was the epitome of fucking  _fair,_ then that was that. Aethyta wasn't going to waste her breath over this. Athame only knew she had done once before and it had bit her in the ass. "Sure, babe. Whatever helps you sleep, I guess."

"Hey!" Shepard clapped. "Can we focus for a second?"

If Aethyta cared what Shepard, or anyone really, thought of her, then she would likely be embarrassed of the scene she and Nezzy were making in front of the human and her guards. As it was, it was Shepard that looked to be pretty uncomfortable. Nezzy didn't look like she relished arguing in front of them either, but Aethyta didn't give a damn. She's waited a century to say what she wanted to Nezzy's face and she had a whole lot more to go over with her ex-bondmate. It was pretty convenient that she had Nezzy locked up in a containment cell. Otherwise, the other matriarch likely would not be giving her the satisfaction. Too bad everything else had to wait for her damn meeting with the Matriarchy. That was going to a  _fucking_  blast.

"I apologize on our behalf, Shepard," Nezzy said regally. Aha, yeah, she was going to act regal  _now._ "I admit that this is not something you should have to see."

"I know this is stressful, but we're going to have to work together to get through this. Matriarch, I know this is probably something you don't want to hear, but I agree with Aethyta and Liara. You weren't under your own control and you also know about the Reapers. If we can convince the Council and your government of your innocence, then we'll all be a lot better off," the human said with a decisive nod. Okay, one point into the 'Maybe Shepard Isn't an Asshole' category. If she kept this up, Aethyta might just have to admit she wasn't so bad. Dammit.

"Commander, I am responsible for a great deal of suffering. I fail to see how aiding my escape from justice will help anyone," Nezzy responded as close to morose as Nezzy ever got. Guess she was finally realizing that no one was going to sign her fucking death certificate for her.

"It will help if we can convince the Council that the Reapers are real. That won't be possible if we let them execute you. Not to mention that Saren is the one that's responsible for everything that's happened. I don't know why you don't believe that, but I don't want to help you get blamed for something he did."

"Fuck, Shepard. Maybe you aren't so bad after all," Aethyta admitted grudgingly. No one was ever going to say that Aethyta couldn't admit when she was wrong, dammit. That was a good sign of the fucking stupid. Or arrogant. Goddess only knew that the Forum tried as hard as they fucking could to get out of admitting mistakes. And Aethyta was determined not to be like those damned bitches.

"Very well, if I cannot sway you from this, then perhaps I can convince you of something else," Nezzy said with a sigh.

"What's on your mind?" Shepard seemed almost relieved to move on from Nezzy's stupid-ass requests to get her killed. Aethyta didn't know if that was because Shepard liked to think she was a damned honor scout, or if she didn't want to get her girlfriend's mom killed off. Maybe it was both.

"Aethyta and I do not like the idea of Liara joining your crew. Surely you have people better qualified to aid you on your mission. She is considered a civilian, is she not? Perhaps she would be better suited staying on the Citadel and consulting with you rather than going into combat," Nezzy suggested. That wasn't a half bad idea...

"Yeah, that's actually a pretty good idea. The kid's convinced she needs to help you with the Prothean crap. She could do that over a vid comm. No need for her to get shot at," Aethyta agreed. Goddess, if Liara could keep from getting her damn fool self shot, then it would make this a hell of a lot easier. Shit, why were T'Sonis so damned determined to just jump into fucking stupid danger?

Shepard was really looking at them again. If Aethyta didn't know any better she would say that the human was trying to get a read on them. Probably she was just thinking over what they said. She hoped that Nezzy could help her convince Shepard to do the smart thing and not get the kid killed. Aethyta was never really good at negotiating. She would much rather just tell Shepard she was being a dumbass and drag Liara off the ship. A hell of a lot easier that way.

"I'm not going to force Liara to do anything she doesn't want to," the human said finally. Dammit, stupid, narrow sighted, fucking idiot... "I do need to figure out this Prothean vision and it's something that seems to be only helped with a meld. Liara's been invaluable with that and her knowledge of the Protheans. I don't think I'm going to find out what it means without her. I won't stop her if she wants to leave, but I'm not going to make her leave. Beyond her help with the vision, she's become a valuable part of this crew. We know she's got our backs and vice versa."

"How much of that has to do with your crush on the kid, Shepard?" Aethyta demanded. Fuck it all if she was going to lose the kid over some stupid as fuck crush held by two of the stupidest kids Aethyta have the misfortune of coming across for some time. Shit, why were maidens always so damned convinced that the first fuck buddy they had were their forever bondmates? "And I want you to be honest with us because I'm not going to put up with any shit. We deserve to know if you want to keep her here because you want to have sex with her."

"That is my primary concern as well," Nezzy agreed firmly. "Does your desire for a relationship with my daughter cause a conflict of interest?"

Shepard had turned red in discomfort. Good, if she thought she wasn't going to get the 'talk' then she had another thing coming. She was damned lucky that Nezzy couldn't be the one to give her hell properly. Liara was her first, she was no doubt going to be hard on the first person to want to get into Liara's pants. "Um, did Liara say something?"

Shit, Aethyta knew something was up between these two. This was going to be harder than she thought. If Shepard and the kid were this into each other, then it was going to be a bitch to keep them apart. Aethyta had seen more than her fair share of possessive humans in her bar, and Liara was a damn maiden. They were often convinced that their first loves were something special. Maidens were notorious for doing the stupidest things for whoever got their interest romantically first. Or the second and third at times. This damn period of asari maturity often had to be riddled with dumbass mistakes for lessons to sink in for the most stubborn asari. The kid seemed like she had plenty of stubborn in her. Probably got it from her mother. Probably.

"No, but I could see it on your faces and the kid gave you away when she tried to deny it," Aethyta groused. "Fuck, this is just my damn luck. Come to get Nezzy out of her mess and Liara finds her way into something too."

"Hold on a second," Shepard protested with a stern frown. "I've never let Liara join my crew because I was interested in her. We've come to know each other since she joined the Normandy. She's proven herself on multiple occasions. Both in her knowledge of the Protheans and her skills with her biotics. I'm not showing her any kind of preferential treatment in regard to ship duties. She  _earned_  her place here."

"I find it hard to believe that Liara would be considered that beneficial to a military ground team. Surely you have crew members that are superior to her in combat?" Nezzy asked skeptically.

This was all Nezzy's fault. Fucking trained her to be an asari commando. Nezzy was a damned protigy when it came to her biotics. Why the fuck did she have to encourage the same from Liara? Especially if she was a damned pacifist? Shit.

"Liara's not someone to underestimate. She can definitely hold her own with me and my lieutenant in biotics. Maybe she gets that from you, Matriarch," Shepard guess with a slight grin. Probably getting that pretty damn accurate assessment from her little showdown with Nezzy on Noveria.

"That is not reassuring," Nezzy grimaced. Well, what did she expect? Now her dumb as fuck choice was going to bite her in the ass. Fuck, if she wanted the kid to be a proper badass, she should have gone all out and stuck her in damned military school. At least then the kid could have known what to expect from a military mission instead of bumbling around in the dark. Even if she didn't know she was bumbling around. But  _no,_ Nezzy just  _had_ to teach her on her own, with fucking half measures and more than likely compromises on what she did or didn't teach the kid. Dammit, Aethyta should have been there to round out Liara's education. She could have made damn sure the kid knew what she was doing here. But she wasn't. And that was shit.

"I get it," Shepard said tiredly as she rubbed the back of her neck, "you're both concerned about your daughter. The way I see it though, is that this is her choice. She may not be military, but everyone on this ship has made a choice to fight for whatever they believe in. I'm not going to take that away from Liara because you asked me to. If you can talk her into leaving, I'm not going to stop you, but I won't force her to leave."

"Then you better listen to me, Shepard," Aethyta growled as she squared up with this stupid as fuck human. "You're damn right that we're going to try to talk to sense into the kid, but if we can't you better be prepared to keep her in one piece. If you don't, I'm going kill you. I'm not going to bother with any elaborate shit, that's just what's going to happen. I don't care about what would happen to me and I don't care if your crew or your Alliance will retaliate. The rest of my kids can handle themselves, Liara's different. She's barely more than a kid and she's pretty damn naïve about how the galaxy works. Make sure she comes back from this mission and we won't have any problems."

Shepard wasn't intimidated, though. Damn stubborn human and her fucking confidence in her own shit decisions... "I think you both underestimate her. I can't make any promises that anyone will make it out alive after this mission. It's not something that can ever be counted on but I never set out to lose anyone under my command. If Liara doesn't come back, you're welcome to try to kill me. It won't be worse than what I'll put myself through."

The human nodded at them and left at that. There wasn't much more to add to it. Shepard wasn't going to do anything about Liara and Aethyta had made it damn clear that the Spectre better know what would happen to her if she dared to fail the kid. She wasn't fucking kidding either.

She and Nezzy stayed in silence as they waited for Shepard to leave. Aethyta wasn't done with Nezzy and she doubted that Nezzy was finished either.

"You have grown even more daring than when we were together," she finally told Aethyta, not sounding at all impressed. "I never would have thought I would see you take on the Matriarchy or a Spectre, Aethyta."

"I told you I was going to take care of this shit, so that's what I'm going to do," Aethyta snapped back stubbornly.

Nezzy sighed then, and when she spoke again, she sounded almost... guilty. "You truly meant what you said to Shepard?" Aethyta guessed she wasn't really asking about Shepard.

"Yeah, I don't know how many times I have to say it, Nezzy, before it sinks in but I damn well meant it," Aethyta told her with a low growl. Fuck, she  _cared_ about Liara. She cared about Nezzy too, dammit, even if she kept getting bit in the ass over that. Nezzy wasn't going to try to tell her she didn't care, and she was going to tell her that as many times as she needed to for that fact to sink into her stupidly hard head.

"I apologize for what I said about you not caring for Liara," Nezzy finally said with a shit ton of regret, to boot. Good. "It—You were right, it's not something I believed. Not truly. I just do not want to see you throw your life away for me, Aethyta; especially when you could do so much more for Liara. She needs you more than me and I am not sure how I can convince you of that."

If things weren't so fucked up, this would be something Aethyta could easily hold over Nezzy for several decades. Apologies weren't something she got from Nezzy often. Admittedly, Aethyta was usually in the wrong about a fight, or because she drank one drink too many. Nezzy was much more level headed than her, typically, and it showed when she tallied up on who really won their disagreements. But this wasn't an argument over whether Aethyta should have started a bar fight. For whatever reason, Nezzy was determined to be fucking suicidal. She knew her former lover felt guilty over all that had happened, but shit did she wish she could convince the stubborn asari that she wasn't to blame for what happened. Nezzy had always liked to take on more than her far share of responsibility.

"You aren't going to because it isn't true. I'm not throwing away anything. Not this time. I'm going to win this one, Nezzy. Just watch. Liara will turn out fine and we're going to focus on you. That crap is going to get out of your head and you aren't going to be arrested for some bullshit."

She hoped she could convince Nezzy of that sooner or later. Truthfully she did not enjoy seeing her ex look so defeated. It wasn't a look that Nezzy pulled off very well. Serene confidence and shit was much more her style and Aethyta was going to make sure it returned. It was probably going to take a crap more arguing and fighting to get, but she was prepared for that. Aethyta loved fighting.


	9. Chapter 9

Shepard returned to her storage room not long after she had arrived herself. Liara was still angry over the blatant dismissal her parents had for her feelings over both her desire to aid Shepard’s mission and Shepard herself. Neither seemed to see that stopping Saren was important and that she was very valuable to Shepard with her study over the Protheans. It was why Saren had wanted her in the first place. Surely Benezia of all people would see that Saren needed to be stopped. Her reaction made little sense.

“Are you okay, Liara?”

“I find it hard to believe that enjoy checking up on me so often, Shepard. It is rather embarrassing that I’m constantly finding myself in need of it.”

“This hasn’t been easy for you, Liara. I don’t think anyone blames you for needing help now and then. Don’t be so hard on yourself.”

“I am sure you have other duties to attend to besides my family. We have interrupted your mission to find Saren.”

“It’s only been a couple of hours, Liara. We’re heading back to the Citadel and it will take that and a little more to get there anyway. This hasn’t been too much trouble. Besides, we need to make the Council see that Benezia wasn’t the real threat. Not only is she innocent in all of this, she could help us prove the Reapers to them, if they’ll listen to her. God knows they don’t listen to me.”

“You are being very kind, Shepard. Already you have done more for me and my family than could ever be repaid.”

“Have they given you the talk yet? That would make us a little more even. They put me through the Inquisition when I went back down there.”

Liara had no idea what Shepard was talking about. She could however tell that the human was attempting to be humorous again. The smirk was back and she was well aware that it tended to only come out when Shepard was teasing or threatening someone.

“What did they say to you? I am afraid that our conversation did not end well. I am thinking that they tried to keep you from allowing me to come with you.”

“Yeah, that’s about right. They care about you, Liara. They just want to make sure you’re alright.”

“I know, but I would still like to aid you. Saren needs to be dealt with and I can help. Being overprotective will be for naught if we cannot determine what the Conduit is. I hope that my mother was not too harsh with you. Unfortunately, I am nearly certain Aethyta was.”

“In human culture, it’s common to get a talk from the family if they think you’re involved with their kid. I’ve been through it before, so it wasn’t too bad. You’re right though. Aethyta threatened to kill me if I didn’t make sure you got back alright. Benezia wasn’t too bad. They definitely fit the overprotective dad and reasonable mom stereotype in human vids.”

Goddess, this was so embarrassing. As if it weren’t bad enough that Liara could be awkward on her own, now her parents found need to help her in that regard. It was fortunate indeed that Shepard was so understanding, especially since she had just been threatened by an asari Matriarch. Liara wasn’t certain if the human was aware of the significance of that, and she wasn’t sure if she wanted to explain it to her. It would be fair, of course, but she did not wish to make Shepard think she was too much trouble for a relationship.

“I would say that I cannot believe that Aethyta would threaten a Council Spectre, but somehow I am not surprised.”

“I don’t plan on losing you on this mission, Liara. If you don’t mind me saying, that would be much worse than anything your dad could do to me.”

Liara did not mind; and curiously, she found her stomach fluttered at the commander’s words. Shepard was the first person that has ever solicited these feelings from her. It was rather exciting and frightening all at once. She hoped that they would catch up to Saren soon. If only so that she and Shepard could properly explore a relationship and relieve at least some of the tension she could feel between them.

“I do not. I would like you to know that I am not just here to help you with the Prothean vision. Not anymore. I want to help _you_ , Shepard.”

“You aren’t afraid of what we might have to do? Or what could happen to you?”

“Perhaps a little. I am not unaware that this mission is dangerous. I believe my parents think that I am unable to grasp what I may be getting into. They are both asari Matriarchs, they have already lived many times past our lifetimes. They believe that I, as a maiden, am unaware and naïve of what we may encounter. But I am not. I think it slips past their notice that I have already been a part of more than a few of your ground missions. I have already seen much that I never imagined.”

“You’re upset with them. I think they’re just being parents, Liara. I wouldn’t be too hurt by what they’ve told you. You’ve just told them that you want to join a Spectre on a galaxy wide manhunt. Fighting geth, rachni, krogan and who knows what else. Once this is over, they won’t be too upset anymore. And they may just see you a little differently.”

“Were your parents angry when you told them you wanted to join the Alliance?”

This was something Liara was rather interested in: Shepard’s own interactions with her parents. She was, of course, familiar with Benezia and how she acted, but Liara was ignorant of how co-parenting was meant to work. Many asari raised their children alone, considering their common desire to mate with other, shorter lived species. Some chose to co-parent with other asari they had bonded with, but not mated. Benezia chose to do the former, for reasons she had never shared with Liara. To have someone else suddenly show up and attempt to exert authority over her was odd. And more than a little unwanted. She guessed that Shepard would have had a far more normal experience than she.

“No, not angry. They joined the Alliance themselves at my age, which was 18. It’s a common age for humans to join the military. I don’t think they meant to start a family tradition or anything, but I’ve lived my entire life on ships. Doing anything else seems wrong, and I did want to help people. Back then, it was easy to sort of romanticize what my parents or any other Alliance soldier did. They actually had a bit of the same reaction Benezia and Aethyta had. Which was thinking I had no idea what I was getting into.

“But I think they understood what I wanted to do. They were actually more upset that I enlisted _before_ actually talking to them. Not my smartest move, but the Alliance was eager to get any biotic they could so it was done.”

“I suppose we are not so different in deciding our paths without prior approval. My only regret is that I will be leaving my mother while she is… as she is to stop Saren. I hope that Aethyta can do something for her. She seems to think she can get the Matriarchy to do whatever she wishes, but I fear it will not be that easy.”

Liara realized that she did indeed regret having to leave Benezia as she spoke to Shepard. It was likely something that has been bothering her the entire time since leaving Noveria, but it was not focused on with everything that has happened. Aethyta was extremely confident in her plan to blackmail the Matriarchy on her mother’s behalf, but how could any of them hope to get to drop charges of _treason_ of all things from Benezia? It seemed hopeless. Liara figured that her mother would have to pay in some way for the crimes she seemingly committed of her own free will.

“Maybe Aethyta knows something we don’t. Tevos sounded pretty mad when she told me about the meeting she and Aethyta had apparently set up. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her like that. Every time I’ve talked to her she was always the mediator between me and the other councilors.”

“I think it is more likely that my father has a talent for upsetting others. She certainly used it on me when we were talking with my mother. In fact, she was actually able to make Benezia uncomfortable. I have _never_ witnessed that.”

“I saw a bit of that when I came down to talk to them too. They were in the middle of an argument actually. Wanted me to pick sides. Not something I really wanted to get into.”

“Goddess, of course they did.”

Liara wondered if she was catching up on familial experiences. Apparently, parents were meant to embarrass their children in some way throughout their lives. She had watched more than a few poorly written vids on the subject after winding down from her finals at university. Her mother had never really touched on that, thankfully. She was much more refined than typical asari as a Matriarch and a renowned politician, leader and teacher on top of that. Liara had never known Benezia to appear less than dignified. Only now, with her other parent, was she seeing Benezia act outrageously foreign both in her presence and in the company of Shepard. Someone she desperately wanted to take her seriously. Perhaps she should inform them that she was more than capable of embarrassing herself. Hopefully they would stop.

“It wasn’t anything bad. They were just acting like, well, an old married couple.”

“I am unfamiliar of what that would mean in human culture.”

“Just that they get in little spats. A lot of banter and bickering goes on and they get on each other’s nerves. But, at the end of the day, they still care about each other. An old married couple knows each other a little too well to put up with some of the more annoying or silly things they each do in their relationship. They're comfortable enough to call each other out.”

“I see. I suppose that description is rather apt for what I saw. I do hope that they still care for each other. I fear they will need to in order to help Mother get past what she must. If they separate again, I do not know what will become of Benezia.”

“I don’t think you have to worry about that, Liara. Aethyta seemed determined to help when I last saw them, and I don’t think she’s leaving any time soon.

“If you do feel that you need to help your mom, I understand. I don’t want you to do anything you might regret.”

Liara grimaced at that. She did not know whether she would leave if her parents would allow her to help Benezia. It was likely, though she did not relish the thought of having to leave the mission and Shepard behind. That choice was made for her, however, and she was not necessarily happy about that. She had meant what she said about Aethyta’s involvement. Liara did not know anything about her, other than that she was her other parent. Yet, she was attempting to tell Liara what she should do with her life. It was rather insulting. She understood where Benezia was coming at least. It was her mind; Liara had no right to attempt to force her mother to allow her to help with the indoctrination. It was something that was just not done in their society. Aethyta, however, was barring her from that course on her word alone.

“Mother will not allow me to aid her. She is concerned with what may happen if I come in contact with the indoctrination. I would have liked to try, but it is her choice. So, I will help in another way. I will do whatever I can to help you catch Saren and understand any Prothean data we may come across. Hopefully we will gain the missing information from your vision in time.”

“I’m not a fan of my brain getting scrambled by those beacons, but if it helps us find the Conduit, then I hope we find it too.”

Yes, she would go with Shepard. The human needed her, and she was excited to learn anything new about the Protheans along the way. Her parents would just have to cope with her decision. It was hers to make.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! It's been a long time. I'm happy to say that I'm back, for the second time and that I hope to keep this the last time I ever have to come *back* to this story. I want to finish this, for a variety of reasons. Mostly because I wanted to stop leaving you all hanging here and also because I want to point at this story and say, "Hey, look, I can actually finish something I start, I'm not a quitter." 
> 
> So, I've been gone from the ME fandom for some time. I've been in the Korra fandom this past year (also starting works there that I need to finish, but one thing at a time and this story is older), but I haven't been able to stick with things. I can happily report that things have been looking up for me. Especially in the regard of staying with the stuff I start. I finally got my answer to why I'm just so bad at not failing shit, turns out I had ADHD and no coping mechanisms to deal with it. I went and got help over the past year and got my diagnosis and treatment with doctors and everything. I'm really hoping that things stay good for me, this is the brightest they've been in years. I'm even back in school, passing classes and actually turning work in on time. That's a damn miracle for me, if I ever saw one. It's a large reason as to why I came back. 
> 
> I said to myself, "BlueRaith, you just finished your homework for college algebra a week early. You've been finishing your English papers early, you started on you history paper EARLY. If this isn't a sign that things have changed, then you need to be hit by the My Life Has Changed for the Better Bus." I don't want to get hit by a bus, so instead I decided to take my new success and try to translate it into my hobbies too. Hopefully I can be just as successful here as I've been in school.


	10. Chapter 10

She was glad that Shepard’s comm room didn’t allow for more than three people to be shown in the vid call at the same time. It prevented the other matriarchs from throwing the bitch fit they wanted. Aethyta could definitely hold her own with three, but if they were in the Forum, it would have been a pain in the ass.

As it was, the call didn’t start out too bad. Aethyta suspected the Matriarchy didn’t quite believe the threat she had given to Tevos. They were probably just humoring her.

“Aethyta, we would not have expected you to call a meeting. Though, if what Councilor Tevos says is true, and the human Spectre does have Benezia in custody, then we should not be surprised to see you,” drawled the middle asari.

Aellis. She was a Goddess damned bitch and the de facto leader of these sorts of meetings. It was always a pain in the ass to deal with her. She was not fond of cooperation with those she thought lesser than her and Aethyta was probably at the top of that shitty list.

“Yeah, I just bet you were thrilled when I retired from the Forum, Aellis. Came out of retirement though, for Nezzy, so Tevos was right. Shepard and I have brought her in.” Aethyta tried to keep any trace of smugness from her tone. It made her feel good to do anything these windbags couldn't. She wasn't sure if she was successful.

“Matriarch Aethyta wishes to get amnesty for Benezia. I attempted to explain that her wish is not possible for a variety of reasons, such as treason, but she would like to speak with us all on this matter,” Tevos sounded like a headache was sneaking up on her. Good.

“Hey, Tevos. I guess it was nice of the Matriarchy to let you sit in on this. Would have thought you would be busy playing puppet on the Citadel.”

“Aethyta, we have all been brought from our busy schedules to indulge you this meeting. Please do not waste our time being petty,” Aellis scolded her like a Goddess-damned maiden. Aethyta really, _really_ hated this bitch.

Yeah, she was being “indulged” and likely “placated” by the others. Aethyta figured this would happen. They really had no idea what lengths she would go to get what she wanted on behalf of Nezzy. At most, the Matriarchy probably thought she would throw some sort of public “tantrum” that they did not want to deal with. Fucking idiots.

“Nah, the Matriarchy is going to ‘indulge’ me in a lot of shit, Aellis,” Aethyta practically growled out. “I wasn’t fucking kidding about the Prothean beacon. And I’m not kidding about all of the other shit I’ve seen, heard and done for this dumbass government. I’ve put up with a lot of shit over the years, and I’ve kept it all to myself, but if I don’t get what I want today, that’s gonna end. Political assassinations, tax evasion, illegal spying on the other races, the damn Prothean beacon, all that shit’s going to get out and you better believe I’m well fucking documented.”

“You are bluffing,” a new voice quietly interjected.

The third matriarch in front of her, Selessa, wasn’t too bad. Stuffy, but she wasn’t an unreasonable bitch. Even so, she stood with the Matriarchy, which meant she wasn’t a friend of Nezzy anymore. Still, Aethyta wasn’t pissed that they thought she was bluffing. If they just bent over backward for her as soon as she started talking, then she’d be even more disgusted with the Matriarchy than she usually was.

“Sorry, Sel, but I’m not. Aellis, five minutes ago I sold some of my info to the Shadow Broker. It had to do with that bullshit job you hired me for 20 years ago on the humans. Shouldn’t have done that, I don’t fucking like you so you’re the one I’ve sold out on first. Anyway, remember that one? You headed that project to spy on human biotic development. Got real antsy over their L2 amps. We fucked up their numbers and set them back a bit. They ended up with a bunch of powerful, but insane humans. Fortunately for you, I was able to convince the Broker that you may pay out the ass to prevent him from selling that tidbit of history to the Alliance.”

Aethyta didn't bother to hide her smug smile this time. She _really_ hated Aellis.

Aellis at that moment seemed to be distracted from her end. Aethyta hadn’t expected for her to get called on that soon, but she sure as hell wasn’t complaining.

“ _A Shadow Broker agent?!_ What do you mean I have—“

She disconnected and Aethyta couldn’t help but feel a little smug. She just cut off the head of the snake. Without Aellis, who hated her with a passion, but fortunately respected her skill at espionage, this was going to be a little easier. The Matriarchy was likely going to regret having depended on Aellis and Nezzy to lead their stupid meetings. Aethyta didn't know of anyone that could step up with the same leadership ability.

“Great, now we can get down to business,” she said breezily. “As you could probably work out for yourselves, I wasn't fucking kidding about selling all of my crap. Extranet communications, orders, nice little recordings of important shit anyone may have talked about with me in the last 50 years. I've got a lot. I'm prepared to either sell it to the Shadow Broker, or let my own network leave some of it lying around conveniently on Earth, Palaven, Sur'Kesh, anywhere we've shit on. If I end up dead conveniently, then all of this will happen anyway.”

“You realize that you have just destroyed your career, Matriarch Aethyta?” Tevos was looking at her in undisguised shock. Aethyta would have mocked her, but she decided to let this one go. Hell, it wasn't everyday somebody took a shit on the Matriarchy. Not even someone as old and ornery as herself.

“Yep, Tevos, I do. But I'm supposed to be retired anyway, so it's nothing to cry over. 'Course you all got a bunch to worry about now, but cheer up. I'm not even doing this for a shitty reason anymore. I'd like you to come for a little visit to the Normandy to take a look at Nezzy. You do know her, and even if I think you're a spineless bitch, even these fools would listen to you if you told them the truth about her.”

Aethyta was spinning this as she went along. Hell, how in Thessia was somebody supposed to react in the wake of Athame-damned _mind control?!_ Still, Aethyta was used to rolling with the punches and she was more than a little proud to realize that she could still get people to do whatever the hell she wanted. She may not have been a golden-tongued politician like Nezzy, but threats, blackmail and plain old nagging was always good enough for her.

Tevos rolled her eyes irritably, “I fail to see why I should be inclined to do as you ask. You are after too much. Even if we agree to release Benezia to you, tell us why we should submit to your demands any further. Considering that you wish to insult me at every opportunity, I'm even less than eager to indulge you.”

“Maybe cause you and Nezzy _were_ friends. Besides, don't even try to deny that you aren't at least a little curious to see why she apparently jumped off the deep end. It's some real messed up shit, and for me to say that, then it really is something.” Aethyta shrugged, “Look, I know I'm acting like a real bitch right now, but I know how this would have gone. Shepard would have turned Nezzy over to C-Sec once she was on the Citadel, Nezzy would have been carted back to Thessia, put under formal charges, then shipped off to the humans without so much as listening to her. Which would have been a damn shame, 'cause if you all spent a little more time listening to shit, then you would have noticed her acting fucking deranged and out of character. Fortunately for all of us, I'm a bartender. I definitely know how to listen.”

“If your concern was over Benezia getting a fair trial, then you need not have gone to this much effort, Aethyta. We are not ruthless savages, she would have been tried in court,” Selessa told her calmly. Aethyta would bet she was trying to be the mediator here. Unfortunately for her, it was far too late for that. There was no convincing Aethyta of any other course than the one she's chosen. She was in control, dammit, and she wasn't going to give up any of the advantage she gathered now.

“I forget, Sel, that you don't take part in all the spying shit that we do. Don't think for a second that some of your pals in this Matriarchy wouldn't try to ship Nezzy off quick as can be to keep her from embarrassing Thessia or some other shit. I've done more than a few jobs that led up to that very same outcome. I've seen how we do things from the inside, so don't think that I'm just going to take anyone's word that Nezzy would be treated fairly. Because that would be a load of bullshit,” Aethyta was _not_ going to trust Nezzy to any of these crypt-keepers. Fuck, she'd been around too long to be fooled by “procedure” and “manners” and mother _fucking “fair.”_

Tevos looked like she was at her rope's end. No longer even trying to hide the irritation she was feeling toward Aethyta and sighed, “Speak plainly then, what is it that you want? So far you have simply threatened us with information that all races no doubt hide from us. We all have secrets.”

“Not everyone is hiding a big ass Prothean beacon from the rest of the galaxy, Tevos. Remember that. Everything that I would let out is just a warm up.

“As for what I want, I want for you to come down to the Normandy and take a look at Nezzy's head, Tevos. Won't tell you why, it's a see it to believe it deal. Second, after you've seen what I want to show you, I want Nezzy to be put into my custody. I can look after her just fine. After that, I want you all to leave us the hell alone. No attempts at retaliation considering that would just speed up my automatic sell out, and no sending fucking spies after us. I know how to spot 'em and they're shit compared to me.”

Aethyta tried not to hold her breath as she waited for Selessa and Tevos to finish looking at each other and reading the other responses the rest of the Forum had no doubt sent the two electronically. This was the make it or break it moment and Aethyta knew that if the other matriarchs didn't bend to her demands now, they were never going to. It was going to be an absolute bitch to break out Nezzy if that happened.

“The Matriarchy agrees to have Councilor Tevos visit Benezia for now, but we will not deliberate on the rest of your demands until she has returned. Be very careful with what you wish to do, Aethyta. You are playing a dangerous game.”

Selessa disconnected and Aethyta was left wondering if that was a little too easy. It was nice that she only had to deal with her and Tevos for the majority of the call and that the rest of the matriarchs had to deal with a chat system, but she figured things shouldn't have been that simple. They were quick to submit to her blackmail and that was more than a little suspicious. They wanted Nezzy, there was no doubt about that. The humans were wanting _someone_ to blame for the attack on their colony, and all fingers pointed at Saren and Nezzy. They wouldn't like that Aethyta had shit on their plans to shift that blame to Nezzy. They were probably going to try to find someway out of the corner Aethyta had backed them into.

“Where's Shepard when you need her?” Aethyta wondered aloud. The human was annoying enough to breathe down her neck everywhere else on this damn ship and it was a bit of a surprise that she had left her completely alone for this conference.

“I can get the commander to come down for you,” a voice on the ship's comm sounded.

“Fuck, tell me you weren't listening in on that call.”

That would be one hell of a shit storm if the humans had been monitoring the calls out. Aethyta should have thought of that, it was a fucking green move to assume that the humans couldn't see or hear her on their own damn ship. She was probably getting too old for this shit, not that she'd ever admit it.

“Nah, the commander told me to give you some privacy. Promise.”

“If she or you aren't lying through your teeth, then you're damn naïve.”

“I told Joker to let me know when you were done,” Shepard said as she walked through the door. Damn human apparently moved quick. “Nothing more, Aethyta. I figure we're on the same side.”

“You waiting outside the door for me, Shepard?” Aethyta tried not to sound too suspicious. The last thing she needed was to give Shepard even a _little_ hint of that stupid, fucking beacon. It would blow any leverage she had with the other matriarchs as that was her biggest card.

“I was talking to Liara. She's on the same level as the comm room.”

The human was probably telling the truth. Aethyta could almost read the honesty on her face. As stupid as that was for her. Shepard was a regular, old honor scout, wasn't she? Otherwise, she'd be shitting her panties and demanding to know about the beacon. As far as Aethyta could tell, she and the kid had been dealing with them on their little mission.

“Fine,” she grunted. “I wanted to talk to you about how we're going to get Tevos on your ship.”

Shepard frowned. “I guess I'm missing the part where I knew about this plan and agreed to it.”

“Nah, it came to me as I was talking to Nezzy's buddies. I'm kinda playing this by ear, Shepard, so give me a break. Anyway, I figured it would be a good idea to let them see how Saren fucked Nezzy's head up. That would help a shit ton in getting them to agree to letting her off and go with me. My problem with that is, they weren't too excited to have me tell them what to do. They're probably going to try to take Nezzy from you if we land on the Citadel. It's their turf and we'd be landing right into a trap more than likely.”

“Nothing's ever easy is it?” Shepard shook her head. “All right, where should we go then? It can't be anywhere too dangerous, or the councilor would never agree to meet us there. It can't be a place where Council authority is in any great power either. We could head back to Noveria and do this at their port.”

“Yeah, that would work. You're smarter than you look, Shepard.”

“Thanks so much, Matriarch. I'll tell Joker to turn us around. I'll leave you to tell Tevos. She and the rest of the Council don't exactly like to hear from me. I may have hung up on them a little too often.”

Aethyta chuckled a little at that mental picture. Anything that gave Tevos a migraine was funny in her book. “Actually, Shepard, I would have liked to see that. Me and Tevos can't stand each other. But yeah, I'll tell her. Might at well finish what I started.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to take a quick moment to let y'all know that I'll be editing and replacing old chapter with New and Improved Versions (TM). Really, the biggest changes will be added dialogue tags. When I came back, I reread all my old chapters to get a grip on what the heck was going on, only to become irritated at a few points because it could be hard to determine who the fuck was talking. Yeah, if I had trouble as the author, then I'm sure some of you did too. Sorry about that, it's going to be addressed one chapter at a time as I post a new chapter. I'll catch up to the new chapters eventually.


	11. Chapter 11

The mess was more active than usual. It seemed the crew was rather occupied with something. Liara didn't have to guess at what that could possibly be. It likely had to do with the asari Matriarchs that were aboard the Normandy. The traitor and the... well, they probably thought Aethyta was a mercenary. She certainly acted as one.

She was trying to eat her evening meal in peace. Usually the crew left her to her own devices and spoke amongst themselves, likely about human matters. However, today they seemed to be determined to look in her direction every few minutes. Liara had seen this happen more than once during her early schooling. It was the signature behavior of those that were talking about her. It used to be about her pureblood status. Now it was about her supposed connection to her parents actual and alleged illegal activities. Some in Shepard's crew were rather determined to not trust her. Even after everything they had already been through.

“Everybody usually this jumpy, kid?”

Goddess, of course she should have known she could not avoid at least one of her parents forever while they were both still on board. She had felt guilty at the relief she had felt in knowing that Benezia was confined below deck for now. Though Aethyta had no such restriction. At least the Matriarch was not going to embarrass her this time. She was speaking in an asari language that was not included in most translators.

Liara sighed as she answered, knowing that Aethyta wasn't going to just leave now that she had decided to speak with her. “They are concerned about you and Mother. They do not yet know that Benezia is not actually a traitor. They probably believe I am suspect simply for being her daughter and they do not know why you are here at all.”

Aethyta snorted as she plopped herself next to Liara at the table. “Idiots. They should just ask instead of gossiping like maidens about it.”

“Not all maidens are foolish,” Liara said as she felt the indignation she still held at the constant doubt both Benezia and Aethyta had towards her bubble back up to the surface.

“No?” Aethyta scoffed as she raised her brow. “Which ones? The strippers, mercenaries? The ones living off of mommy's money? You trying to say that you haven't made more than a few bad choices since this started? I've been there, kid. Done a crap ton of stuff I never should have and never had to really answer for any of it. And that's how all of our kids are. They hit a hundred and figure they can take on the whole damn galaxy. Ton of them end up dead and those that don't spend two hundred years doing fuck all.”

“I am not a mercenary! I do not know why you and Benezia are determined to believe that I cannot handle myself, but I am not you. I am doing something for the good of the galaxy.” Even as she said it, she knew that this wasn't going to change Aethyta's mind. There was a question Liara sometimes had, one that only occasionally came up when she became overly frustrated with her mother, and it was the niggling thought that perhaps the matriarchs had forgotten what it was to be younger than they were. Liara was almost certain that was the case now.

“Funny how that sounds so similar to how I used to think when I was a maiden. You should read some of the brochures Eclipse gives out sometimes. 'Security company' my ass. Sorry, kid. Your mom and I don't think you can handle yourself because you haven't seen even a fraction of the shit we have. Not even when we were your age.”

Age was something that was held in high regard amongst her people. Liara was reluctant to admit that Aethyta had a point. Many asari her age tended to live wild and explore and experiment. Many of them did indeed end up dying or living hedonistically. Asari Matriarchs were rare and regarded with deep respect. Wise, experienced in many, many regards, they are the backbone of asari society. So it was not surprising that Aethyta and Benezia considered her naïve and idealistic. It was not the first time those older than her had disregarded her opinions or feelings. It was still rather irritating, however.

“And I suppose you have come across the Reapers, rachni, a thorian and Prothean artifacts in your lifetime?” She challenged. Liara knew that the rachni even predated the oldest of asari Matriarchs, not to mention the fact that the thorian was a newly discovered specimen. “How would you expect me to experience the galaxy if you are determined to talk me into staying away from it?”

“Plenty of other ways to experience the galaxy _without_ getting shot at,” Aethyta answered while rolling her eyes. It was as if her father thought this should be obvious to her. Like she should have guessed she should just give up and go home. “Like what you were doing before Shepard picked you up. Go back to those dig sites, write some books. You're right, Liara. You aren't like me, so might as well stay away from the crap that I did in my maiden years. You couldn't handle it.”

Anger shot through her entire body and Liara was about to retort when Chief Williams joined them. She was surprised that the human would sit next to her. Liara got the impression that the chief wasn't particularly fond of her or the other non-human crew members. They got along well enough in the ground team, however, on the ship, Williams preferred to avoid her.

“Gunnery Chief Williams,” she introduced herself suddenly and confidently. “Sorry to interrupt, just wanted to introduce myself to Liara's dad.”

The chief was definitely acting out of character. At least, what little character Liara was familiar with. She did not have a particularly good opportunity to figure out what Chief Williams was like when not on missions. Nevertheless, she suspected that the human did not make a habit of “introducing” herself to non-human crew mate's family members. It was odd to say the least.

“Why?”

Aethyta at least seemed to catch on to Liara's confusion and she was glaring at Chief Williams suspiciously. It was something she wanted to ask for herself, but Liara was not keen on exacerbating the strained relationship between her and Williams if possible. Shepard seemed to like her well enough so Liara did not want to cause any unnecessary problems.

“Just wanted to be friendly. Noticed that you both were keeping to yourselves. I didn't want you to think that you couldn't talk to us,” Williams smiled, but Liara didn't really think it was a nice smile.

Aethyta laughed, but the was no humor behind the sound. “You wanted to be nosy in other words. Don't think I don't know what fishing looks like when I see it. Out with it, what's got your panties in a twist?”

Williams had narrowed her eyes at them both. Humans seemed to make the same expression when they doubted what they were being told. Shepard often did so when scientists lied to her. “Well, I can't say that it isn't suspicious that you and Liara are talking to each other in a language none of us understand. That and the fact that we have her mom, who betrayed the Council, below deck and things look a little funny. I hope you don't think that betraying the commander will go over well.”

The body language that Williams was using was more than a little aggressive. Liara noticed that Aethyta seemed to be mirroring the human and she suddenly had a desire to have taken her dinner in the storage room instead. It was just her luck that she found herself in this situation. She hoped it wouldn't escalate.

“You're talking out of your ass, human. You should probably go have a chat with Shepard to get your facts straight. She probably wouldn't be happy to hear that I wiped the floor with your ass if you continue to be stupid,” Aethyta said lowly.

“Aethyta, Chief Williams, please,” Liara knew she was speaking a little frantically, but the last thing she wanted was to have her father starting a brawl with one of Shepard's crew members. That surely wouldn't convince anyone that Aethyta wasn't here to harm them and they'd probably think she had something to do with any fight her father started as well. “We were having a family conversation. I am afraid that I am not fond of giving the crew even more rumors to gossip about my family. Aethyta was simply honoring my wish. I would never think to betray the commander and I would like to see this mission through just as much as you do, Chief Williams.”

The human was still regarding her and Aethyta suspiciously. However, she did seem to relax a little. Liara did not know if that was due to what she told Williams, or if the human seemed to be thinking of something else in regard to her issue.

“I trust the commander's judgment,” Williams finally said after several moments of intense staring. Her father had regarded her impetuously the entire time while Liara sat through the silence stiffly. “She thinks you aren't going to do anything, T'Soni. But I don't trust you, Matriarch. I've heard who you were to Benezia, and I want you to know that I'll be watching the commander's back for her.”

This time, Aethyta almost seem to laugh with some real amusement. Liara didn't know what was so funny about any of this. “That's something at least. I was beginning to think that every human on this ship was a naïve dumbass. You watch Shepard, then. I'm not going to do anything, but at least you're thinking. Just don't do anything that would piss me off. Like mess with the kid. That'd get me going pretty quick,” Aethyta told her darkly and Liara found she was much more irritated by the fact that Aethyta seemed to think she needed protection rather than flattered that she actually seemed to care.

“I have been doing just fine with the crew since I have joined the Normandy, Aethyta. I do not need a protector.”

“Just making myself clear, Liara. I don't think me or Williams want any misunderstandings.”

They traded another look with each other, not quite glaring, but Liara got the distinct impression that they were both sizing the other up. She couldn't really tell just _why_ they were doing so. As far as Liara could discern, they had told each other exactly what they expected from the other.

“No. I'm not the only person on this crew that won't be looking out for the commander. So I'd be careful if I were you.”

With that rather ominous warning, Chief Williams left to return to the armory. Liara was not sure when she found herself in the middle of such posturing. She had once told Shepard herself that she did not need a protector, though it would seem that she had a couple anyway. Perhaps after she finished with this mission and Saren was captured, she'd get the added benefit of proving that she can indeed take care of herself. Her parents seemed to think that she was utterly incapable. It was rather insulting.

“Paranoid bitch, but she's at least got a quad on her. Not many people would threaten an asari matriarch. Maybe she's just stupid though.”

“Chief Williams is quite competent. Do her suspicions have any merit, Aethyta? Are you planning to take Benezia by force if need be?” Goddess only knew that was the last thing any of them needed, especially Benezia.

“I'll be honest. Yeah, I did plan to try to bust her out if it came to that. Luckily, your girlfriend sees things my way. Speaking of that, I managed to get the Matriarchy to at least send in Tevos for a little experiment,” Aethyta was grinning smugly. Liara wasn't sure if she knew her well enough to tell whether or not that was a good thing. If she had to guess, she'd say that such a look on her father probably wildly varied depending upon the circumstances. Aethyta was completely unpredictable.

“What sort of experiment?” She asked carefully.

“The kind where I get her to take a look at your mom's head and she gets her ass into gear. It won't hurt to get a _few_ of those idiots on my side. Even if Tevos hates me, she was friends with Nezzy. With the blackmail and Tevos backing me, hopefully, the Matriarchy should give me what I want.”

Liara was oddly comforted by Aethyta's confidence. It was more than the posturing she had seen thus far, the Matriarch seemed to genuinely believe that she had a good chance at freeing her mother from her fate. She did not want to see Benezia harmed by her government's desire to judge her mother too quickly. Liara had hoped that Benezia had a good reason to join Saren, and while the indoctrination was horrifying, she was glad that her mother was not of her own mind. However, she had never given much thought to what would happen to Benezia once Shepard caught up to her. Obviously she would have had to answer for her crimes in some way, but Liara did not honestly contemplate execution. It was almost to terrible to think about.

“Does Mother know of your plan?”

“Heh, not really,” Aethyta admitted, nearly looking guilty but not quite. “Haven't gotten around to telling her yet. And I don't plan to until Tevos is in the Normandy's decontamination chamber. Last thing we need in Nezzy getting difficult because she wants to turn herself in and shit. She's determined to blame herself for all this crap, but I'm not going to let her do that. But she likes to be stubborn. She'll be pissed, but she'll get over it.”

“She does have a choice to allow others in her mind,” Liara reminded her, a foreboding feeling was sneaking up on her and she was beginning to think that this plan the Matriarch had suggested wasn't as simple as she had first laid it out to be. “Besides, I thought you said that melding with Mother was dangerous. Why allow the councilor to take that risk? I cannot imagine that she would agree to it if she knew. Wait, Goddess, she doesn't know, does she?”

“Nope. Can't take the chance on her backing out. I wouldn't even blame her for being spineless in this case, though. That indoctrination crap is really fucked up. But Tevos probably knows what she's doing in a meld. We wouldn't stick her in a place where she has to deal with conspiracies and Spectre shit if we were afraid of her losing control against an asari spy. I wouldn't worry about her, kid. Besides, I'll pull her ass out of the fire if it gets too rough. I may not like her, but if I can keep her from getting killed, then I will.”

Liara would have liked to say that she scarcely believed Aethyta would suggest something this insane, but she wasn't exactly surprised. Instead she felt a strange sort of dread, and she wondered if this was the feeling others had when they began to witness the beginnings of a transport crash. “Mother will never agree to this plan. You know this. She will not put someone in danger if she can help it. Particularly if Councilor Tevos is her friend as you say.”

“I know she doesn't like to hurt people. Which is why I'm telling her that if she doesn't do this, I'll just break her out. Shepard will try to stop us, and we'll be forced to probably kill some humans. Hell, I'll even tell her that you'll be forced to try to stop us. It's probably true, for all I know. Nezzy knows she doesn't have a lot of options, and she knows I can be just as damn stubborn as she is. Your mom knows when I'm serious,” she told her and Liara could even see for herself just how serious Aethyta was about this plan in her eyes.

“Do you blackmail everyone you come across?” Liara asked in near disbelief. How did Aethyta treat others this way without even blinking? “I suppose I am fortunate that you have not tried to do so with me.”

“Don't push your luck, kid. I'll do what I think I have to, to keep you from getting your fool self killed. If I find something that I think could make you leave, then damn straight, I'm going to use it.”

“I suppose it is not hard to see why Mother left you. If you were this domineering in your relationship with her, I can't imagine why she would stay for one hundred years.”

Aethyta blinked at her, and for a moment she seemed completely disarmed. This was an actual shock to Liara. She hadn't known that was actually possible. Then, her father grimaced and an entirely different kind of anger than the blustering, aggressive and probably put upon, anger spread across her features. This was a cold, serious anger. “Whoa, that's something you don't know a _damn_ about. Shit kid, why don't you talk to your mom about that? It's obvious you need to get a few things straight. Fuck if I'm going to take the fall on that. I told you that I've been doing this crap because you needed it. Do you really want to sit there and say that you could deal with this shit on your own? Because that's a load of crap.”

She knew that Aethyta was helping them. Liara was in fact grateful that someone was here to handle the Matriarchy. She knew that she would have never been able to stand against their authority. They had many resources at their disposal. Perhaps she wasn't being fair, but Liara was growing tired of the control that Aethyta was trying to exert. She already had it over Benezia, and it was needed there. Liara, though, wanted to make her own choices. She was certainly capable.

“I can make my own decisions,” Liara told her firmly, ignoring Aethyta's anger for now in favor of her own increasingly worsening temper. “Why are you so adamant against allowing me to accompany Shepard? I realize that you and Mother are concerned for my safety, but I have made it this far with her and I suspect that I will continue to be fine. My biotics are good and Shepard has long since taught me how to use a weapon. I would rather that you would focus on freeing Mother. She is in much greater need of aid than I am.”

“Funny that you and Nezzy both insist that the other needs me more. Frankly, I think you're both more than a little helpless right now. I knew you'd take after her, Liara, but damn, could you try not to make her mistakes? You've seen where following a Spectre got her and here you are attached to one at the hip. I get it, Shepard is good looking enough. I guess you're interested in the soldier type too, they can be fantastic in bed, but they're all over the place, kid. Get out before you're in too deep.”

“It is already too late for that,” Liara told her seriously. She could only hope that one of her parents would at least finally believe that her feelings were real if she kept repeating them.

Aethyta looked surprised. “Oh, fuck! Don't tell me you had sex with her already?!”

Liara could practically feel her face turn darker and grow hotter by the minute. How did Aethyta always seem to think the worst of this kind of situation? “By the Goddess, _no!_ Why must everything come to sex with you? Is it not enough that Shepard and I care for each other?”

It wasn't until the humans sitting around the two asari grew quiet that Liara realized that they were speaking in a language that was programmed in their translators. And that they were perhaps a little too loud. Groaning and rubbing her forehead, she suspected that the whispering was only going to get worse now. Did Shepard even want her crew to know that she was interested in Liara? For that matter, did Liara? She had told the commander that she wanted to hold off on a relationship, yet here she was insisting to Aethyta in front of the crew that she was serious with the human. Would this get back to Shepard? Goddess, this was not how she planned for this to go.

The Matriarch looked relieved and oddly, it was getting on Liara's nerves. “Kid, don't scare me like that. You almost gave me a damn heart attack. And no, fortunately that's not enough. You won't know a real connection until you Join with her, so don't fucking do it. Nezzy would say the same thing. Goddess knows we don't need you thinking Shepard is the end all of your love life. Let me tell you, that's a pain in the ass. Had a couple of my girls think that about their first partners. Damn well couldn't tell them anything during that time.”

Why was she being forced to put up with this? Aethyta had absolutely _no right_ to tell her what she should or shouldn't be doing with her personal life. She was beginning to realize that neither Aethyta nor Benezia were ever going to take her seriously, not like this. She was going to have to show them, do what _she_ wanted to do, without trying to explain to them why she was making the choices she wanted to. That was obviously getting her nowhere and she was _tired_ of being treated like a child.

“This is _none_ of your business. Frankly, it is not Benezia's business either. _Shepard_ and I will determine where we will go with our relationship, if anywhere. Mother and I have been estranged for several years, and I have never spoken to you before today. Neither of you have much room to dictate who I shall and shall not see. Nor do you have the authority to bar me from continuing with the Normandy. Focus on Mother, there is not much you can do with me.”

With that, Liara left for her storage room. She did not want to be in the mess any longer, with the humans that were staring and the father that was too overbearing. She still had much to talk about with Benezia, but for now, she would rest. Goddess only knew that her parents were driving her to insanity.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Turns out I wasn't exaggerating about New and Improved(TM) chapters like I kinda thought I was. Turns out i couldn't help adding more characterization and thoughts to the updated Chapter 2 and that's not exactly a bad thing. Chapter 2 needed the extra work in the places I gave it and I think in one part I even forgot to have Aethyta properly mull over indoctrination when Shepard and Liara first tell her about it the first time I posted it. So, that's been fixed along with some smaller extra bits I've added in. All in all, I think Chapter 2 got a 600 word upgrade. Check it out if you feel so inclined, I'm excited to do this with Chapters 3-9 too.


	12. Chapter 12

Benezia was certain that Aethyta was up to something. It was not usual that she would return to soon after an argument. Typically they gave each other space, yet here she was again. Not even attempting to speak with her, which was another red flag. If Benezia didn't know any better, she would say that her ex-bondmate was waiting patiently for something. And Aethyta was anything but patient outside of her jobs.

“Are you going to tell me what you are up to, or must I guess?” She finally asked. Athame only knew Aethyta would never volunteer the information unless specifically prompted….

Aethyta shrugged. “Eh, I guess Tevos is close enough to let you in on me and Shepard's idea.”

Councilor Tevos? Why would she be remotely near the Normandy? Benezia would think that was the last thing her stubborn ex-bondmate would want.

“Tevos is boarding the Normandy? Where are we?”

“Back on Noveria. I talked the Matriarchy into having her pay us a little visit.” Aethyta was smiling darkly and Benezia decided she didn't like her expression. At all. “Only, I figured the Matriarchy would wait for an opportunity to stab me in the back, so I talked Shepard into coming back here. Won't go near the damn Citadel until this is straightened out if I can help it.”

“Why would the councilor need to board the Normandy, Aethyta? What are you up to, and why are you keeping it from me?” No, this was the last thing Benezia wanted right now. Anything Aethyta was hiding from her had to be something she wouldn't like. Otherwise she would tell her about what she was planning. Aethyta preferred to solve problems head on.

“I knew you wouldn't go for this if I warned you, Nezzy. Just know that if you don't go along with this, I'll have to kill your friends here and make a break for it with you,” Aethyta warned her as the guards coughed uncomfortably. Benezia wondered why the were even tolerating her former bondmate's threats. Shepard could easily lock her into another containment cell right next to her. “Things would get ugly, people would die and we'd be fugitives. And I don't think you'd want to leave the kid like that.”

This was most alarming. Aethyta obviously knew that Benezia was not going to like what she was going to tell her. It was likely something completely foolhardy and rash, and dangerous as well, if she knew her ex-bondmate. She was beginning to understand Liara's frustration with them both, if Aethyta was anywhere near as manipulative with her as she was being with Benezia. It was so unusual. Typically, it would be Benezia using her tongue to get what she needed. Aethyta preferred to use her fists. The change in roles was most uncomfortable.

“What have you done?” She could very nearly feel the dread settling into her stomach like a solid mass.

“I _may_ have gotten Tevos to come here to take a look at you. The Matriarchy may have agreed to let her see you before they would even consider letting you off with me. So, I did what I had to.”

Benezia balked at her. This was blatantly galling, even for her. “Aethyta, does she even know of the indoctrination? I could kill her if I lose control! Do you even realize how difficult it is to keep reign over it?”

“Do you need another meld, Nezzy?” Aethyta shot back. “Don't lie to me either, we can't fuck with this crap. If you feel like you're that dangerous, then I need to take another look in there. Can't have you killing Tevos while I still need her.”

“Aethyta, we shouldn't be risking her life _period,_ ” Benezia exclaimed. But Aethyta was looking at her as stubbornly as she ever has and Benezia knew there would be no convincing her that this plan was utterly insane. She sighed, “I feel as I did while the indoctrination was beginning to completely dominate me. I am familiar with what it feels like, and I do not believe there is much we can do at this time. It is silent right now, but I can still feel it. I suspect that it _will_ try to kill Tevos if you allow her too close. It likely knows her, Saren of course knows her as a councilor. Do not go forward with this, Aethyta, please. It would be utterly foolish to tempt it.”

“I know we're playing with fire here, Nezzy, but we don't have much of a choice. You can't be strung up with something beyond your control and the damn Matriarchy needs a reason to hand you over to me. It needs to be something good too, or it'll never work.”

Goddess, why was she still here? Of course she had a choice! The choice to leave her behind and focus her effort on protecting their daughter. Liara certainly deserved Aethyta's care much more than she did. It was completely baffling the lengths her bondmate was taking on her behalf.

“It does not need to work! How many times must I tell you that I need to answer for what I have done? Aethyta, you were correct in that my arrogance got me here. It ultimately caused the deaths of many innocent people. Why are you so set on getting me amnesty? I do not deserve it.”

“You know I didn't mean it like that. Nezzy, don't you start feeling sorry for yourself,” Aethyta growled. “It doesn't look good on you and it's damn annoying. If you don't get that I'd kill for this, then know that I've thrown everything in to get you out. There's nothing out there for me besides bartending if you don't let me go through with this. The Matriarchy isn't going to trust me worth shit after all the shit I've done to them. I've already nearly ruined Aellis's reputation and I'm prepared to do even worse. Don't make this harder than it needs to be.”

“Why now? Why are you here for me now? Do you believe that there is something more for us after this? Is that what you wish to come from your interference?” Aethyta practically recoiled at the accusation and Benezia knew she had hit a sore spot for them both. Good, perhaps she would actually _think_ about what she was doing. Perhaps she would finally listen. “Aethyta, we both know that what we had was coming to an end. My leaving wasn't entirely unwarranted, even if you believe that I slighted you. Do not ruin yourself hoping for something that I cannot give. Particularly now with the indoctrination altering my mind. It will never be the same again. I cannot offer you what you want.”

It would make sense that this is what Aethyta wanted. She had no other reason to try so hard to free Benezia. Of course, she knew that her ex-bondmate cared for Liara, but Aethyta could easily just help her, rather than taking on their entire government for Benezia's sake. Perhaps if she could get her to see reason, and Aethyta would leave her where she belonged.

“Shit, Nezzy, this has nothing to do with sex! Or Joining! Fuck, is it too much to believe that I actually care about you?” Aethyta exclaimed angrily. “That I care whether or not the Matriarchy would fucking _execute_ you? I'm here because I want to look after my family. You and Liara are part of my family, so you're shit out of luck if you think that I'm just going to walk away because you want me to. That's not happening again. And I'll keep telling you that until it sinks into your damn hard skull. As great as your rack is, Nezzy, Embracing Eternity is the last thing on my mind right now. Sorry to disappoint.”

Absolutely infuriating. For one, shameful moment, Benezia wanted to ask Aethyta why they mattered so much to her _now._ But she knew that she had made it obvious to Aethyta that she was not interested in continuing their bonding or parenting Liara with her. Enraging Aethyta over those old hurts wasn't going to convince her that this was a terrible idea, it would probably only make her even more stubborn than she already was. Still, that did not mean she wasn't furious with Aethyta right now.

“You are impossible. When is Tevos to arrive? I would hope that you would at least give me time to prepare myself. However, given how impulsive you are known to be, I would not be surprised if she was coming down the elevator at this very moment.” Wouldn't that be perfect? It would certainly fit with Aethyta's actions.

Aethyta rolled her eyes, as if _Benezia_ was acting completely ridiculous. “Shepard said she'd give her about ten minutes. So calm down.”

Benezia would have liked to point out how hypocritical it was for Aethyta to tell her to calm down. Though she knew that would be useless. Not only did Aethyta not care, she would be wasting valuable time getting her mind prepared to welcome yet another foreign presence. She was beginning to forget what it was like to be alone. Benezia had certainly not been a stranger to loneliness since joining Saren, but she was far from being actually alone. The indoctrination was a constant within, and with Aethyta and now the councilor demanding access, privacy was a very foreign concept to her as of late.

It was not long before the motors of the elevator were heard again. This time, it carried the councilor as well as the human commander. Benezia was surprised that the human would go along with this madness. She was a Council Spectre. Shepard was supposed to work to protect the Council and their interests. Which would include keeping the councilor _alive_ rather than risking her for something as trivial as Benezia's fate. Tevos was responsible for the lives of billions of people. This was such a waste on her.

Aethyta had warned her not to say anything that would cause Tevos to fear for her safety. Benezia knew that saying anything would ruin Aethyta's plan and likely cause Tevos to rally the Matriarchy to resist her ex's blackmail. Then Aethyta would do something truly terrible.

Councilor Tevos strode in the room, already looking inconvenienced by her bondmate and they hadn't even said a word to each other yet. “Matriarch Aethyta. What would you like for me to see? I would like to get this over with.”

Benezia noticed that Aethyta and Tevos were rather tense with each other. More so than usual. Perhaps they had been more difficult with each other than they each anticipated. It was not a surprise. Aethyta and Tevos had been against each other since they had met, just about. They had fundamentally different ideals and there wasn't any attraction between them to temper the animosity.

“Calm your tits. I'm not going to show you anything, actually. Nezzy is. I told you over the call that she was the reason I wanted you here,” Aethyta told her bluntly.

Tevos's exasperation was nearly palpable. A far cry from her usually calm and collected attitude. Benezia granted that dealing with Aethyta at any point she decided to be difficult was a severe exercise in patience. “What exactly are you wanting her to show me then? Now that I am here, you may as well tell me what this is about. Keeping me in the dark now will not achieve much.

“I told you that this was a see it to believe it deal. I want you to meld with her. See what made her do all this shit. It's definitely way more than what I expected.”

“You wish for me to meld with a traitor?” Tevos balked immediately and Benezia didn't blame her. She didn't even know just how dangerous the indoctrination was yet and if she had, Tevos would likely have already fled. It was what Benezia would have done in her place. “I will be honest in that Benezia has been acting in a manner that I would have never expected, but I will not be so foolish to meld with someone that has acted so severely against our laws.”

She was not sure what she thought of Tevos's reluctance now that it had been spoken, however. On one hand, it was certainly wise of her to not throw herself into a meld with Benezia. None of them knew if Tevos had a guarantee of survival and Tevos wasn't even aware of the danger herself. Yet, Tevos had been someone that Benezia could always count on in the Forum. They had often met outside of it to discuss their views. They thought very similarly on how they thought the asari should advance. Having Tevos disavow her in person was a surprisingly hard blow. She knew she deserved it, but it was not something she ever thought she would experience.

“Yeah, I want you to meld with her. She isn't going to kill you, Tevos,” Aethyta said easily. Too easily in Benezia's opinion. She wanted to tell her just how unethical all of this was, but she knew that Aethyta would enact her even more foolhardy plan if she did so. “Grow a quad and do your duty to the Council or whatever. It's something you need to see, Nezzy being a traitor or not. She's got some real important shit in the her head. Something that I think you'd find important to Shepard's mission.”

Shepard's name brought the councilor's attention to the human and she didn't look particularly pleased. Benezia wondered then just what Shepard was doing in trying to protect her. How many reports was she putting on hold, if not outright forging them to buy Aethyta time. Shepard honestly needn't go to such lengths. It was only going to hurt her career in the long run as Benezia was almost certain that this wasn't going to work.

“Commander Shepard, I have not taken to the time to get your debrief. It is something the other Councilors and myself _will_ be expecting after this meeting. At any rate, what have you learned in regard to Benezia's involvement with Saren? Matriarch Aethyta does not have the information you have come across in your mission.”

“She wasn't in control of her actions, Councilor. Aethyta's right, it's not something I've ever heard of before, but it's Saren who has been calling the shots. Benezia isn't going to try to kill you,” Shepard said calmly and Benezia wondered if she had heard an emphasis on the word 'try' or if she was only hearing things.

Tevos's brow furrowed. Looking confused and frustrated all at once. Benezia didn't doubt that the councilor thought this a waste of her time. Benezia agreed with that sentiment. There was no need for all of this effort in protecting her. “Not in control? What does that mean? The evidence Ambassador Udina presented to the Council was clear, Commander. Benezia was allied with him in attacking your colony. I must say that I do not understand why you would be so quick to stand behind someone that attacked your people, someone that by all accounts, you do not know.”

Shepard shrugged. Benezia could not figure out Shepard's motivation in aiding Aethyta. It couldn't have been due to Liara. This seemed to be far beyond the efforts one would go to for a mere dalliance. She was supposed to be the human's enemy, yet here she was, practically betraying a Councilor for her. The human was beyond her understanding.

“Because she's actually innocent,” Shepard insisted. “I know it's hard to believe. I wouldn't have ever thought that Benezia wasn't responsible for the attack on Eden Prime if I hadn't met her on Noveria. Aethyta wasn't wrong when she said you have to see it. A meld is the only way to understand what we're talking about. And it would also help me in my mission against Saren. Benezia has critical information.” She wondered just how Shepard knew that. She hadn't melded with Benezia and seen the effects of the indoctrination on her mind. How could she volunteer someone else to this danger when she had not experienced the risks for herself?

Tevos studied all of them for the longest time. Benezia certainly didn't blame her for being suspicious. She would have tried to counsel her against this course of action had she been certain that Aethyta wouldn't try to forcibly take her off Shepard's ship if this failed. That certainly could get Tevos killed anyway depending on _when_ Aethyta tried. Benezia wouldn't put it past her former bondmate to enact her ridiculous secondary plan immediately.

Finally, she turned towards Benezia. Regarding her coolly on the surface, but Benezia could easily spot the disbelief and shaken shock within her eyes. Her betrayal had likely shaken the entire Matriarchy and they would all be hesitant to trust her ever again. No matter what Aethyta and Shepard eventually proved to them. “Very well. Benezia, I will warn you that if you try to harm me in any way during the meld, I will end it and Shepard, I will order you to bring her to the Citadel immediately. What you have been doing, Matriarch, is something that I would never have imagined, but I will not ignore the possible danger.”

“I understand, Councilor Tevos. I would not take this course—”

“Great! Why don’t we get this over with, so you can report back to the Matriarchy like a good little councilor?”

Aethyta shot her a glare, while Shepard gave the order to lower her containment field. Tevos was giving Aethyta an exasperated look as well. Benezia suspected Tevos would be glad to be rid of her bondmate soon.

Tevos stepped close enough in order to meld with her as her own guards came closer as well. The asari commandos were likely extremely uncomfortable with this development. They were not alone in their opinion either. Benezia, frankly, was not looking forward to having yet another in her mind. It was bad enough that she was going to need Aethyta’s constant help to fight against the indoctrination if this worked.

Benezia gave the words of a knowledge meld. They weren’t really needed, just something that was said to ready the participants and it was considered polite. Though, Benezia was glad for them, as they gave her one last chance to prepare her already tired mind.

“Embrace Eternity!”

It awakened almost immediately. Though, perhaps “awakened” was not quite the right term. It was _always_ there. Pushing, battering at the edges of her mind; demanding entrance, ordering her to listen. However, it did not always have a singular purpose for her to follow.

_**Crush her.** _

_What?! What is this?_

The meld was in itself confusing as Benezia struggled to give it form. Images of Sovereign, Saren, geth, and the human colony appeared in flashes. Feelings of subjugation, obedience, and hatred battered them both as the memories of Saren’s Benezia assailed them. All the while, they were still in the small cove that Benezia still owned within her mind.

_I’m sorry. It is indoctrination. I had not wanted this…._

Tevos attempted to sever the meld, but it was proving to be much more difficult than either imagined.

_**We must prove ourselves to the Reapers. The Council will not understand. We must do what is necessary.** _

_**She is an obstacle to our mission.** _

_Leave, Tevos!_

_**Eden Prime was a major victory!** _

She could feel the panic set in to the councilor as the images and memories grew more violent and oppressive. Saren’s will grew heavier as it sensed something it wanted. Benezia knew that she would not be able to hold off the indoctrination if it decided to push her barriers to get to them both.

The meld severed unexpectedly.

“Fuck! That may have been a bad idea. Nezzy, Tevos, you okay?” Aethyta actually looked worried for once. No, perhaps that wasn't fair. If Aethyta _wasn't_ worried, then she wouldn't be here at all. Still, Benezia was furious with her for risking Tevos's life the way that she had. The meld was as bad as she had feared it was going to be all along and only now did Aethyta realize this was a terrible idea? Goddess.

“What are you playing at, Matriarch Aethyta? Commander Shepard, I will have to speak with the other councilors about this. I cannot believe that I allowed myself to be spoken into this. Was this an attempt on my life?!” Tevos was just as furious as Benezia, but they could probably all hear the very real fear behind her words. The indoctrination had shaken her, and Benezia knew then that she had been convinced that something was very, _very_ wrong with her mind.

The commandos the councilor brought with her moved between Tevos and the rest of them, as well as prepared their biotics. The humans Shepard had guarding her readied their weapons as well.

“Whoa, hold on a second and think, Tevos. What did you see in there? I sure as hell know that if you stopped and focused, you’d realize something fucked up was going on inside Nezzy’s head. Everyone fucking calm down so we can talk about what happened,” Aethyta said quickly before any fighting could occur.

“I am leaving,” Tevos said through gritted teeth. Undoubtedly at her wits end with Aethyta and probably wanted nothing to do with her. Tevos glared sharply at Shepard as well, “Perhaps humanity is not ready for the Spectres, and perhaps we will now need to bring charges against you as well, Aethyta.”

Aethyta snorted, “That bad, huh? Not even a ‘Matriarch.’ We can’t let you go yet, Tevos. I said I wanted to show you something. If I wanted you dead, I just would have shot you. I wouldn’t pull off any bullshit about it. Relax. I know that shit was crazy, I melded with her too, but that wasn’t Nezzy. That wasn’t anything either of us has ever experienced before. I knew it could get a little rough, but I couldn’t let you in on how it really was. Not if I wanted you to see. So I lied to you and Shepard and made sure Nezzy wouldn’t say anything about it either.”

The councilor's glare didn't lessen. If anything, her expression grew even more grim as she heard Aethyta admit she had set Tevos up.

“What was that, then? Speak quickly, Matriarch Aethyta. My patience with you is at an end.”

“Councilor Tevos,” Benezia said apologetically before Tevos and Aethyta could come to blows; it was certainly plausible with how poorly Aethyta was handling this, “it is called indoctrination. It is a powerful technology wielded by Saren to keep his followers under his control. It was something I was aware of not long after joining him, but I did not realize how powerful it was until it was too late. However, I believe that I am still responsible for what I did while under his command. I joined him out of a misguided attempt to change him, and I must answer for that.”

“Yeah, she went to stop him, and he fucked up her head. But now she’s suicidal, so don’t listen to her when she starts talking like that. The turian bastard made her do all that crap.”

Even Shepard stepped forward to explain what was going on and Benezia still could not figure out the human's motive behind helping her. It was almost maddening. “Councilor, I saw how Benezia acted on Noveria while under Saren’s control. It wasn’t anything like how she is now. Indoctrination is real. I don’t know if it’s technology from the Reapers, geth, or something Saren found himself, but I don’t think it’s something the Council should ignore.”

Tevos seemed to ponder their words for some time. Benezia did not know if she would believe them. A significant part of her hoped she would not. While Shepard and Aethyta were right in that the indoctrination was terrible, she knew that she was extremely dangerous. It will eventually take control of her again, once it had an opportunity.

“How does it happen?” Tevos asked cautiously.

“Benezia and Shiala told me that it was Saren’s flagship. My guess is that it must be some kind of technology on the ship. A lot of the colonists on Eden Prime reported some kind of signal they heard and felt when it landed. I think that must have been what Benezia and her followers were exposed to long term,” Shepard explained.

“But _how_ does it happen? I have never heard of such a thing that exists.”

“Come on, Tevos. That practically bit you in the ass,” Aethyta said as she rolled her eyes. “Hell, it gave you and Nezzy a damn nosebleed. You really want to tell us that you don’t believe what we’re telling you?”

“I do not know what… what that was. Matriarchs, Commander, you must realize that what you are claiming sounds extraordinary. I will not be able to convince the Matriarchy on this with just your word,” Tevos told them grimly. Benezia honestly could not believe it. The councilor believed them. At least about the indoctrination. Was she even still angry about how nearly she came to being killed?!

“Then maybe you can convince them to give me some time,” Shepard told her. “Let me continue chasing after Saren. I can find some evidence along the way. Have them hold off on taking Benezia in until then.”

She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Tevos looked close to agreeing with this madness.

“No. Please, do not let what you saw affect your judgment, Tevos. So long as I am under the effects of indoctrination, I cannot be trusted. I nearly killed you during the meld!” Benezia exclaimed, disturbed at how quickly the situation was turning. She hated that she had as little control over her fate as she did. Now even Tevos had more of a say in what was to happen to her than she did and all three of the people outside her cell were utterly mad in thinking that she deserved a second chance. “I have already proven that I will not be able to stop myself from giving into it. I’ve done so much under its influence.”

“This is what I’m talking about,” Aethyta sighed, gesturing to Benezia almost tiredly. “Damn suicidal. She apparently thinks she needs to be a damn example or some shit. Nezzy, what the fuck is going to change if we let the humans have you? Is this guilt talking? You know that Saren is behind this crap. You know that nothing is going to change until Shepard gets him. How about you be useful and help us with what you know instead of working to kill yourself if you’re so damned guilty.”

“I have already given Shepard everything that I know. The only thing left is to face the consequences of my actions.”

“They weren’t your actions if you didn’t fucking think them up to begin with!” Aethyta shouted.

“Matriarchs,” Tevos interrupted, looking at them both in exasperation. Benezia wondered if she was thinking about how Benezia and Aethyta would argue with each other in the Forum all those years ago. They had forced others to intercede between them then as well, Tevos had likely been one of them. “I think we can all come to an agreement. Shepard has given us the best course of action. I am not certain of what I experienced in the meld. However, I do believe that it was something beyond your doing, Benezia. I will not be able to get you your freedom, but I can convince the Matriarchy to wait until we have more information. Aethyta, I trust you can hold off on your blackmail until then? In the meantime, allow me to take custody—“

“Hell no on that, Tevos,” Aethyta scoffed. “You know we’d be idiots not to think that you or one of the other matriarchs would do whatever the hell you wanted if you got Nezzy. So that’s not going to happen.”

“I hope that you do not think we would allow you to take her, Matriarch Aethyta. You have already proven that you will go to drastic lengths to gain Benezia’s freedom,” she said as she tried to gracefully rub at the dried blood under her nose. “We do not think that taking her by force is beyond you. Nor do we think that you would not simply disappear with her.”

“Heh, guess you all smarted up. Like I said though, you won’t be getting her, unless you really want to see me pissed. That won’t be pretty by the way. It’d be a sure fire way to get me to release all my crap to the Shadow Broker _and_ take Nezzy, everyone else be damned. So, if I’m not having her, and you’re not having her, we’re at a bit of a standoff here.”

* * *

Aethyta knew that she could simply go through with her plan right now to get what she wanted. It’s what she was itching to do, admittedly, but she knew how the damn Matriarchy worked. They liked to say one thing, then turn around and do something else. It would be easiest in the long run if they saw some Goddess-damned sense and released Nezzy to her of their own volition. Otherwise, they probably would end up sending fucking spies, or worse, try to force her to see things their way through one of her kids. Or hell, all of them. If it came down to it, she would do whatever it took to get this done, but for now, it was best to play this stupid game.

“Well, I have custody right now,” Shepard pointed out. Aethyta had to resist the urge to grit her teeth. She could see where this was going and she didn't like it. Fuck, she was going right back to where she started as far as the fucking Normandy was concerned. “It was a human colony that Benezia attacked, and it is my mission that I found her on. It would be in my best interest, both as a Spectre and a human, to make sure that she is under the control of indoctrination before I release her to anyone. She should just stay on the Normandy.”

“Commander Shepard, I realize that you are trying to help, but Matriarch Benezia is asari and—“

“Oh, that’s bullshit, don’t even finish what you’re saying. The human has a damn biotic dampening containment field. She has a way to keep Nezzy fed and all that crap. She has the kid on her side. And she has more than a few people with her that can fight worth a damn. Whether we like it or not, and I sure as hell don’t like it, Shepard has the strongest position to keep Nezzy right now. And I know I would rather trust her than the backstabbers on Thessia. Neither of us are going to get her off this ship without going to some dumbass extremes. Not without Shepard giving the go ahead.”

Aethyta hated just about every word that was coming out of her mouth. She didn't want Shepard to keep custody of Nezzy. She still didn't know if she trusted the human. But she knew she trusted those wrinkled bitches in the Forum even less so. At least the human seemed to be helping Nezzy out of some kind of goodness of her heart, or whatever varrenshit. Aethyta could try to manipulate that to her advantage if need be. It was going to be a pain in the ass, though, which was why she really wanted to skip the middleman and get Nezzy to herself to begin with.

“You seem to forget that Shepard is under the command of the Council,” Tevos told her, like Aethyta was too fucking stupid to remember that. “I can order her to release Benezia into my custody.”

“And then we’re back where we fucking started. I’ll still go to the Shadow Broker and break Nezzy out, and the Matriarchy is still going to have a damn scandal on their hands. Is that what you’re afraid of, Tevos? Getting embarrassed? ‘Cause Shepard’s given you a nice out. Why don’t you take it to save face while you can?” She taunted through gritted teeth. Fuck if she wasn't tired if this game already. Sure, it had been her idea in the first place, but the way Aethyta saw it, this should be so fucking complicated. Nezzy was compromised mentally, if Tevos couldn't see that, then she was the moron Aethyta always told her she was. If she could see it, and wanted to play politics, well. Aethyta was just going to have to make it perfectly fucking clear that she didn't have the time or the patience for that shit.

“And I suppose you are going to want to stay on the Normandy? Where you will be able to attempt to take Benezia at any time?” Tevos said, suspicion lining her every damn word.

“Not really. Sure, I’ll be able to if I wanted, but that’s not the reason I really want to stay. You saw how fucked up Nezzy’s head was. She can’t stay in control forever. She needs to meld with someone to help her keep up her strength. Preferably someone that knows what the hell they’re doing in a meld so they won’t get their heads melted.” Fuck, if she needed to be honest, then she would be. Aethyta wanted this over with so she and Shepard could focus on what was actually important.

She could see Tevos thinking everything over. Aethyta guessed that the other matriarchs had likely ordered her to find any way possible to get Nezzy. But, Shepard still had the advantage. More men, the fact she somehow managed to get Tevos on the Normandy without a shit ton of commandos. She had no idea how the human managed to sweet talk Tevos into doing that. And she had an actual reason to keep Nezzy for intelligence and crap rather than having her rot in a cell on the Citadel. Tevos had to make a decision on her own. Something she rarely has to do and Aethyta hoped she didn’t fuck it up.

Tevos eventually sighed before she finally gave them all a fucking answer. “Commander, I hope you will take the necessary security precautions.”

“Councilor, that is something we’ve already discussed regarding Liara. No one is going to be able to talk to Benezia without my order. Aethyta is under security watch, something I’m sure she’s aware of,” Shepard said as she glanced towards Aethyta. Aethyta didn't know what the fuck she was looking at, of course she knew she was under watch. Hell, she'd think the human was even more stupid than she already did if she wasn't being watched…. “Let me do the job you gave me. Taking away Benezia without letting me properly investigate her circumstances is only going to hurt all of us in the long run.”

Tevos was silent for several moments. No doubt trying to make the decision on her own and balancing doing what was fucking smart with what the Goddess-damned Matriarchy would want. Depending on her choice, they could be pissed with Tevos for years and knowing her, Aethyta didn't think the girl scout would want to risk it. Finally, she sighed tiredly, “The Council wants an immediate debriefing. We can hold it here on the Normandy. Shepard, I do not have to tell you how important Benezia is to the asari. Do not fail in the trust I am giving you.”

That was damn surprising. Tevos made the right decision without having to cry to the others about it. Maybe she had some balls on her after all. Fuck, Aethyta was going to have to find some new insults for her. Perhaps something along the line of finally growing the fuck up. Aethyta studiously ignored the voice in the back of her mind, the one that sounded suspiciously like Nezzy, telling her that Tevos's reluctance wasn't completely her fault. Her job depended on those fucking windbags' good will. Yeah, problem with that was Aethyta's philosophy of not caring what the fuck they thought and doing what she wanted anyway. If Tevos was more like her, hell, she'd probably be a lot less stressed out day to fucking day. Goddess knew she enjoyed it when she finally stopped going to the Forum. Though, that could have been for the fact that she didn't have to see a certain asari there near daily any longer…. Eventually, Tevos, Shepard and the commandos soon left to have the human report to the rest of the Council like a good little Spectre, leaving Aethyta, Nezzy, and the ever present guards as the only people in the brig.

“That was perhaps the worst outcome I could have imagined,” Nezzy finally told her after a few tense moments of silence. Aethyta knew her ex wasn't going to be pleased with her. Hell, that was probably the understatement of the fucking week right there. Still, she was going to keep her promise and make sure that these dull stone T'Sonis made it out in one piece, no matter how hard they tried otherwise. Goddess-damned geniuses with no fucking common sense….

“We’ve got some damn different views on the situation, Nezzy. Aside from that fucked up meld, this was the best thing I could have hoped for. Well, the Matriarchy getting some brains and seeing things my way completely would fucking help. Speaking of that meld, what the hell was that?” Aethyta didn't actually think anything would go wrong with the meld. Hell, it wasn't like she _wanted_ to kill Tevos. Who the hell was she going to taunt mercilessly in her vidcalls to the Forum as she fixed this shit? Aellis? Fuck that, at least Tevos was mildly fun to trade barbs with. Aellis was just a bitch, with absolutely no redeeming qualities.

“I told you that the indoctrination would attack if it sensed something it wanted. I do not know why it wanted Tevos beyond that it sensed she was important, but do not let her meld with me again. As well as Liara,” Nezzy's glare was practically murderous. As if she actually thought Aethyta would be stupid enough to expose the kid to the mind control shit. The fuck? They were on the same damned page as far as the kid was concerned, Aethyta thought she had made that perfectly clear. “I do not think it will react any differently if she tried. My strength barely withstood holding it back from the councilor. I’m assuming you had to forcefully break our contact.”

“Yeah, the commandos weren’t too thrilled with how Tevos was looking and once you started bleeding, I figured it was time to stop it before things went tits up. And don’t worry about the kid. I think she knows what I’d do if she gets too stupid about all this. We’ve had a talk. She didn’t like it, but I made some points,” Aethyta said firmly. Still thinking about the last conversation she had with Liara. It hadn't gone as well as she would have thought it would. Kid was way more stubborn than she would have figured her to be. Nezzy had always given her the impression that she was a shy, timid thing. Apparently challenging her made her stubborn as hell and difficult to talk to. Which sounded awfully familiar, and Aethyta didn't know whether or not she was happy about that, or annoyed that those traits were being used against her.

“Do not push her too hard, Aethyta. Liara has grown more independent than I had realized,” Nezzy admitted. Almost grudgingly so. Aethyta knew that Nezzy had realized the same things she had. Liara was much more determined than either of them had given her credit for. “I would like to be able to reason with her when she inevitably comes to speak with me. If you’ve already angered her beyond sense, then there will be little that I can do.”

Nezzy looked perturbed about the kid. Aethyta could tell what was going on, she knew her ex too well. Nezzy was probably hoping to manipulate the kid without much effort. Not realizing that she _was_ growing up, whether she was thinking things through or not. There was no reasoning with the kid at this point. She already had it in her stubborn head, and hell maybe some of that hardheadedness came from them Nezzy too, that she was going to do whatever the fuck she wanted. Maidens pulled that shit all the time. The only thing they could do was let her know that she better not get too stupid. Or else suffer some shit Aethyta could pull up. Nezzy wasn’t going to like essentially threatening the kid, but Aethyta knew there wasn’t anything else they could do. Goddess, she had enough trouble with this crap from her last kid and she wasn't as smart as Liara was. Which meant she had found less trouble in that period of her life than Liara was probably going to find now. Aethyta wondered briefly if she was getting too old for this shit, but that wasn't something she was willing to admit, let alone think about for very long.

“You know, I told you to let her do what she wanted. That’s biting us in the ass right now, so there isn’t much reasoning to be done. You aren’t going to be able to manipulate the kid, Nezzy. She’s determined to be a damn fool, which _is_ what maidens will do. I told her that if I could find a reason for her not to go, then I’ll damn well use it. Frankly, I don’t think there is one though. At this point, we can only tell her to be smart about this crap. Don’t play the damn hero. Live through this or we’ll make it hell for Shepard,” Aethyta ticked off on her hand. Fuck, this was their only recourse and she didn't like it one bit. Aethyta had hoped that talking some sense into the kid would get her to realize that the shit she was getting herself into was fucking dangerous, but in the back of her mind, Aethyta knew the truth. Liara was going to do what she damn well pleased.

And Nezzy seemed to come to the same conclusion that she did if the way she was staring at her accusingly was any sign. Fuck, so now this was Aethyta's fault? Did Nezzy miss the part where Liara might as well have told them _both_ to fuck off? Shit, if Nezzy wanted to get her panties in a bunch about the kid's determination to get her fool self into trouble, then maybe she shouldn't have alienated her the way she did. Liara might have been more willing to give them the time of day if she wasn't pissed off with at least one of them. Kid wanted to be a fucking archeologist, dammit. What the fuck was wrong with that? Certainly, Aethyta had made more than her fair share of mistakes while she was raising her own girls, but she had never had an estrangement with them based on their fucking _jobs._

“It is no mystery as to where her wanderlust came from, Aethyta. Perhaps I should have seen this coming, and perhaps I should not have humored her in her research. However, fair or not, I will not forgive you if Liara is lost on this mission.”

Nezzy turned away from her, which was as good as telling her to fuck off. Aethyta was pissed that this seemed to be yet another thing her ex would blame on her, but she figured she may as well use the feeling and do something useful with it. Aethyta knew where at least some of the blame would lie if things went bad. She and Shepard needed to have a nice heart to heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all, chapter upgrades are still going very well. Chapter 3 is now around 1500 words longer, so I'm very happy with how it's turning out. Looks like I needed to expand the past chapters a bit because I'm obviously not at a loss of things to add.
> 
> Also, these chapters are actually not live. They're postings of already written content I've posted on the Mass Effect kmeme. This story started on the kmeme in fact, I returned to post there the same day I returned here and on FFN with brand new content for the kmeme. There's actually a lot more to the story there than is posted here. Like, double the size of this story, just about, and you'll get to where I'm currently at there. If you're interested in taking a look, I'll be posting the link to the kmeme thread.
> 
> First, a few warnings. Literally everything from Parts 1-45 have already been edited and posted here with additional plans to expand upon the content in my ongoing upgrades to past chapters. So, start at Part 46 if you don't want to open a shit load of collapsed comments. Parts 46 to 90 have yet to be posted here and on FFN, which I plan to do. That means, anything you read after Part 45, until Part 75, is going to be different to their final versions here. Significantly so. Keep this in mind if you decide to read everything before Part 75. Part 75 is what I consider the cut off point for significant expansion in that it's the part that I returned to after my long absence with my new policy of adding dialogue tags and character actions as well as facial expressions to scenes. You know, the stuff that lets you know who the hell is talking and what they sound and look like while they're doing it. I still laugh at myself for leaving that out to begin with. I haven't been able to resist adding new content beyond these things, mostly character introspection, while I'm there as well. Anyway, kmeme is what I consider raw plot content. Not the final version, complete with typos and sometimes very awkward sentence structures and repetitive, if not missing or entirely wrong, words. Hot off the keyboard stuff, basically. If this hasn't deterred you, check out the link below.
> 
> http://masseffectkink.livejournal.com/7674.html?thread=36281082#t36281082


	13. Chapter 13

Shepard felt more than a little rung out. She empathized with Liara, knowing that whatever stress she was feeling was likely far worse for her. As it was, she was struggling to keep up with all that was happening, and trying not to let anyone in on that. Aethyta didn't need any encouragement to act out. Benezia’s innocence was proving more difficult to convince others of than she realized and the Council was not happy with her.

Of course, to a certain extent, that was understandable. She was seemingly attempting to protect a terrorist. Shepard could put up with the accusations of her being fooled by Saren into letting his top lieutenant on board her ship. It wasn’t until Sparatus, once again, made the issue a human centric one that she disconnected. She had no time for entertaining his racism.

“Commander Shepard, I thought we agreed that you wouldn’t hang up on us any longer,” Tevos said disapprovingly. Shepard wondered if Tevos thought she wouldn't dare to disconnect their call right next to her. If that was the case, then the councilor was very wrong. Sparatus really got on her nerves.

Still, Councilor Tevos sounded more than a little upset with everything. Shepard, though, wasn’t sure if she was more annoyed with her or Aethyta. She figured it was a close draw between Aethyta's determination to specifically upset Tevos and Shepard's desire to seemingly defy the Council out of spite. If only they'd realize she wasn't actually _trying_ to do that.

“I don’t think I agreed to anything, Councilor,” Shepard said innocently. Well, she _was_ actually hanging up on them on purpose, of course. Everything else she reported, Shepard did with the best intentions. “I just figured the debriefing was over. Let me walk you to the Normandy’s decontamination chamber.”

Tevos didn't look like she bought Shepard's act at all with her furrowed brow. Well, Shepard never claimed she was the best actress out there. Still, the councilor looked too exasperated to call her on it. At least she knew when to pick her battles. Maybe Shepard wouldn't disconnect her reports with the Council so often if Sparatus could keep his mouth shut more often….

“Very well,” Tevos sighed. “Remember what I told you, Commander. This is a severe security risk, and under normal circumstances the Council would not allow it.”

Shepard did wonder why the Council was being so accommodating for her. She didn't get the impression that they trusted her that much. Shepard suspected that her appointment to the Spectres was an attempt to appease the Alliance more than an appointment based on her actual merits. That was fine, she would enjoy proving them wrong, but Shepard would still like to know what had gotten the Council so willing to work with her instead of their usual avoidance tactics. Maybe there was much more to Aethyta's past than she let on.

“I’m taking all the precautions necessary, as I explained to Councilor Sparatus. You’ve seen for yourself that I’m being careful.”

“I do not like the presence of Matriarch Aethyta. It is her that I am concerned about, not Benezia,” Tevos clarified as she grimaced while speaking Aethyta's name. Shepard really wanted to know if there was a story there. Aethyta was certainly one of the most difficult people she had ever met, and she was beginning to think that probably was no easy feat to deal with her over the course of centuries rather than days.

“I don’t think asking her to leave would be a good thing,” Shepard pointed out. She certainly wasn't in the mood for soothing the hot-tempered Matriarch's rumpled feathers if _that_ conversation went bad. Not to mention the fact that Shepard wasn't keen on making things harder on Liara as well. Last thing Liara needed was the threat of her long lost dad kidnapping her mom to places unknown for who knows what. “I don’t know how she got you to go along with any of this, but I’m guessing that it’s nothing good for the asari. Maybe having her here to make sure Benezia is all right wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world. It'd keep her out of trouble. Mostly. Probably.”

“I am merely warning you about her, Commander. Matriarch Aethyta is well versed in espionage and infiltration. She is considered one of the best agents the Matriarchy has. Do not underestimate her abilities and do not underestimate her care for Benezia.”

Shepard had to admit that she was curious about the two asari. Liara was certainly her mother’s daughter, but she wasn’t like Aethyta at first glance. Seeing Liara's parents interact was certainly interesting, and it gave her an idea of just how much rope she could give Aethyta in regards to ship security. Which was not a lot. The two argued like an old married couple and Shepard was beginning to suspect that they cared a lot more each other than either wanted to let on. Especially to each other. It was probably best to see if she could get anything out of Tevos. She doubted either Matriarch in her brig would give her a lot of answers. They were too concerned with driving each other crazy.

“Aethyta implied that you and Benezia know each other,” Shepard hedged. She really wasn't sure if getting nosy in asari relationships was something that was tolerated well in their culture.

“I have known them both for some time. Benezia and I used to share similar views in our government,” Tevos answered easily. It was probably the most polite answer she could have given with the way she and Aethyta traded barbs.

“But it seems like you know more about them than you’re letting on,” she pressed. “It would help me to know just how close they still are to each other. I don’t want to give Aethyta too much range and risk her trying anything.”

The councilor hesitated for a moment. Shepard guessed that she definitely knew them both better than she let on. It was likely that she was friends with at least Benezia. She could spot the animosity shared between Tevos and Aethyta from across the deck. Not to mention the fact that they were both probably perfectly aware that Aethyta would be more than willing to try something drastic. Tevos probably even more so than Shepard. She wasn't exactly sure what 'for some time' meant in asari culture. Could easily be decades.

“It is not my place to go into the details of their bonding. However, I do suspect that they both still care for each other. Matriarch Aethyta, well, she hasn't worked professionally for at least a century. Coming out of retirement for Benezia is rather telling, I think. I would not trust Matriarch Aethyta to not do anything rash and I think it would be best if you do not allow her unsupervised visits with Benezia. Dr. T’Soni is likely another security risk.”

“Liara isn’t a security risk,” Shepard responded quickly and firmly. “I’m certain about that.”

By this time, she and the councilor were in front of the decontamination chamber and Tevos was regarding her curiously. Shepard tried to return her look as coolly as she could, but she really wasn’t feeling it. She wasn't the best actress, after all…. She knew there were only a few ways someone could interpret what she just said, but there wasn’t much she could do about that now except act as confident as she could. Hopefully Liara wouldn’t mind having their attraction to each other public. She'd have to talk to her later. Shepard hadn't wanted to attract more unwanted attention to Liara than she already had. Benezia and Aethyta were going to make the entire T'Soni family a popular topic aboard and with Liara as shy as she was….

“I see,” Tevos drawled and Shepard had to repress a grimace. Great, even the asari councilor was giving her flack about this. “Regardless, I wish you well in your hunt for Saren.”

With that, Councilor Tevos stepped into the chamber with her commandos. Shepard felt that she could breathe a little easier. She wasn’t too concerned with keeping the councilor happy or anything, but she was one less person she had to deal with now.

“Hey, Commander. I think Aethyta wants to talk to you again. And Alenko said that he’s not sure where to put the Eclipse mercs,” Joker said beside her.

“Of course she does,” she sighed. Shepard had a feeling Aethyta was going to require almost constant attention. “Have someone take her to meet me in the cargo bay and tell Kaidan to put the mercs there. And set a course for the Citadel.”

“Sure thing,” Joker said easily.

Quickly, she made her way down to the engine bay. No way was she going to keep Aethyta and her people down there together without some house rules.

Shepard was certain Aethyta and the mercenaries were going to be difficult. She did not like the idea of having the Eclipse on the Normandy, she hated mercenaries, and once they docked on the Citadel, they would be leaving her ship. Aethyta was just going to have to deal with that. She didn’t mind that the Matriarch cared for Benezia and Liara and respected what she was willing to do for them, but Shepard knew she was going to have to let the Matriarch know under no uncertain terms that the Normandy was _Shepard’s_ ship. She gave the orders and Aethyta was here as a favor.

Speaking of Aethyta, she and Wrex seemed to be staring each other down. That was just what she needed. Someone causing the krogan to get territorial.

“Is there a problem?” Shepard asked firmly as she sidled up to them.

“Nah,” Aethyta snorted, “me and the krogan are just getting to know each other. How’d you get him and the turian to work together, Shepard? That must have taken some balls.”

“Vakarian doesn’t have as big of a stick up his ass like most turians,” Wrex drawled. “Makes it easier for me not to crush him.”

“Really?” Aethyta asked, seemingly surprised and pleased at once. “I think I’ll have to talk to him. Anyway, why are we here, Shepard?”

“This is where you and your mercenaries are going to stay until we reach the Citadel. I don’t have enough sleeper pods on the Normandy for all of you.”

“What’s happening when we reach the Citadel?” Aethyta asked suspiciously. No doubt perfectly aware that Shepard was going to tell her something she wasn't going to like.

“The mercs are leaving and then you’re free to use one of the pods whenever you want to sleep,” Shepard answered coolly. This time, there was no uneasiness behind her words. There was absolutely no way she was going to allow Aethyta to dictate her stay on the Normandy. She apparently had the Council strung up over something, but this was Shepard's mission and she was going to work it the way she wanted.

Aethyta stepped away from Wrex and stood before her. Shepard knew that this was it. She knew they were having a bit of a pissing contest and she really didn't mind that. If that was what it would take to keep things running smoothly, then that's just would Shepard would do. Aethyta wanted to know just how much power she had over her situation and Shepard was going to let her know under know uncertain terms that it wasn't much.

“And how do I know that you aren’t going to pull some shit once they leave? The kid’s willing to follow you into fucking dark space, you have Nezzy in the brig and you have a crew of humans that’ll follow every order you give them. Maybe I like the insurance my girls give me,” Aethyta said with her eyes narrowed. Daring Shepard to challenge her over this. She was more than willing to oblige her.

“I’m doing you a favor,” Shepard pointed out. They both knew she could easily kick Aethyta off her ship and let her wonder about her ex-wife and daughter's fate on the station. Not that Shepard was cruel enough to do that, but Aethyta certainly didn't know that. “From what I’ve seen, you’d like nothing more than to take Benezia and run off with her. I can’t let you do that. Not while she may prove useful to my mission and the only way that can happen is if she’s still alive. The smartest thing to do would be to leave you with the mercs on the Citadel. You’ve already gotten me permission from your government and the Council to keep Benezia in my custody with your blackmail.”

“Then why don’t you just do that? I’m not doing any of this crap for you, Shepard. The fact that this is working out for you just luck,” Aethyta snapped.

“I would rather have you as a friend than as an enemy,” she answered back, pulling back a bit. She wanted Aethyta to know Shepard was calling the shots, not antagonize her needlessly. “You were able to get the other Matriarchs to do what you wanted. I don’t know how, but that’s a skill I’d rather have working with me than against me. You’re also Liara’s father and I know this has got to be hard for her to go through. We’re on the same side, but I don’t trust mercenaries. You and Wrex have a reason to be here. They don’t.”

Aethyta was practically staring her down and Shepard was matching her gaze. This wasn’t something she was going to back down on.

“How about I tell the girls to leave and you have Liara on the next shuttle to Thessia?” Aethyta bargained. “That seems like a fair trade to me.”

Shepard had to repress the urge to sigh. She knew that Aethyta and Benezia were both concerned for Liara's safety, but she hoped this wouldn't be a recurring conversation. They were going to have to learn to accept Liara's choices one way or another.

“It’s not fair to Liara. I told you and Benezia that I wasn’t going to force her to do anything. I still stand by that. You and Benezia are essentially refusing to take her seriously and see that she’s an adult that can make her own choices.” Shepard would find this situation a lot funnier if the circumstances weren't so serious. Here she was, already defending her maybe, perspective girlfriend from her overprotective parents' unreasonable expectations. That wasn't something she expected to be doing so quickly.

“There’s more to life than reaching a certain age, dammit. The kid has no idea how the galaxy works. I know Benezia, I know her family. Liara’s been brought up with everything she’s ever wanted and she has no idea what it’s like to live in the shittier parts of even Thessia let alone the galaxy with a species that likes to jump in first and ask questions later,” Aethyta growled. Yeah, she was most definitely the overprotective dad. “You’re not doing her any favors, Shepard.”

“That’s actually how I see your actions, Aethyta. Fact of the matter is, Liara’s been with my crew for _weeks_ and in that time she’s come across mercenaries, slavers, experiments gone wrong, geth and all kinds of other things I’m sure she’s never seen or maybe even heard of. If you’re trying to protect her from the darker sides of life, then you’re way too late for that,” Shepard snorted. “I won’t tolerate this sort of blackmail anyway. Like it or not, you’re the one at _my_ mercy. As I said, I can and will order you off my ship if you can’t handle that.”

“Shepard, I’d like to see you try to—“ Aethyta started to rage through her teeth.

“Why not just head-butt each other and get it over with?” Wrex suddenly growled out irritably. T’Soni handles herself well; I don’t see why you both have to whine about it. Get over it and give me my space back.”

Shepard could see that Aethyta was not happy to realize that she wasn’t going to get her way in this. It wasn’t as if she couldn’t see where the Matriarch was coming from, but it was only up to a certain extent. Shepard was determined to not have this point brought up over and over again by either Matriarchs. The sooner they realized that Liara was going to do what she chose, the sooner Shepard could turn her focus to other, more important, things. Like tracking down Saren or looking for evidence for Benezia’s indoctrination. The things that actually mattered. Aethyta needed to sort out her unresolved feelings for her family with her actual family. Shepard had absolutely no doubt that they all desperately needed to sort through some baggage.

“Fuck you, Shepard,” Aethyta seethed. “I swear an Athame’s blue ass that if you get the kid killed there isn’t a damn place in this galaxy that you’ll be able to hide from me. I’ve got connections and Nezzy has money. Be damn careful of what you decide to do with Liara.”

“I don’t think that’s going to be necessary,” Shepard countered confidently. She had no intentions of getting Liara killed on this mission. “In the meantime, I really would appreciate your help with Benezia. She’s going to need everything she can get and I don’t think Liara can deal with the indoctrination like you can.”

“The kid is _not_ going anywhere near Nezzy in a meld. I am not going to fucking compromise on that, Shepard. That’s the only reason I’m even playing along with your crap. No one else is going to deal with Nezzy’s mind shit. I swear to the Goddess, if I hear even a peep that you'd be willing to indulge the kid in her fool idea to help with that, I'll fucking fight you right then. That shit is nothing to play around with. If you can't believe that Liara's too inexperienced to go on this damn fool mission, then believe that she's _not_ experienced enough to deal with a meld like that. Melding is something you actually get better at the more you do it and Liara _definitely_ hasn't been doing it much,” Aethyta snapped through gritted teeth.

If Shepard hadn't been able to hear the concern in Aethyta's words, then she'd see it on her face. The Matriarch actually seemed even more worried about the thought of Liara melding with Benezia than following Shepard. If that was the case, then Shepard was willing to believe that melding with Benezia probably was more dangerous than she would have expected.

“No, I agree with you on that. I know you probably don’t believe that I’m actually trying to help Benezia, but I’ll do what I can for her whatever you think my motivation is.” She was Liara's mother, for one thing. Even if they weren't interested in each other, Shepard still would have been trying as hard as she could to help Benezia. She really wouldn't wish this fate on anyone, let alone a crew member's family.

“Good,” Aethyta said as she rubbed her face. More relieved than she probably wanted to admit. “You have anything else you want to lay down, Shepard?”

“No, I should go.”

This was a little easier than Shepard thought it would be. A part of her expected Aethyta to not see any reason whatsoever. She could tell that the asari probably tended to go more than a little rogue when she determined that what she cared for was in danger. As it was, the commander did not think that this was the end for any conflicts she would have with Aethyta. That would be too simple. At least Wrex looked comfortable again.

* * *

 

It was only two days since the commander had stopped by the Citadel to drop of Aethyta's mercenaries and restock their supplies. Miraculously, Councilor Tevos had kept her word and allowed the Normandy to dock without incident. It seemed that either she or the Matriarchy were willing to give Shepard a chance to prove her mother's innocence. Despite all of their misgivings and likely wounded pride. Time would only tell just how long they were going to let Shepard and Aethyta get away with such a brazen challenge against the Matriarchy's authority.

At any rate, Shepard was in the initial planning stages for the excursion to Virmire. Liara was eager to get there and find out what the salarian infiltration unit had found on the planet. Hopefully it would provide more clues as to what Saren was planning and perhaps even evidence that could exonerate her mother. That was what she wanted more than anything. Unfortunately, the Alliance seemed to have contacted Shepard for another of their ill timed missions. Apparently some of their scientists were missing or even dead. She, Tali and Shepard had found a communication to one of the scientists mentioned on Noveria. It was not something any of them had considered so dire at the time and Liara guessed that Shepard had originally planned to investigate only after she had settled the Council's business on Virmire.

However, it seemed the Alliance had relayed information that the commander found rather disturbing. Liara had yet to see the human look so disquieted and agitated. She was half temped to ask the commander what was bothering her, but she got the feeling this was something Shepard wished to keep to herself. Liara was honestly surprised that she even picked up on the human's body language. It seemed she was getting better at socializing every day she was on the Normandy. Well, rather it was more likely that she was getting better at recognizing _Shepard's_ social cues instead of humanity as a whole. The rest of the crew still managed to catch her off guard.

She was glad when Shepard asked her to go with her on the ground team. Liara had to admit that she was more than a little curious to learn what disturbed the commander. A part of her was a little hurt that Shepard did not seem to want to trust her with this, but she was forced to remind herself that she was the one who had stepped back from forming an actual relationship. The human did not truly owe her anything and vice-versa. Liara knew that she had no one to blame but herself for lack of complete openness between them. Shepard did not belong to her in any way. At least she could take comfort in the fact that the commander obviously trusted her enough to “watch her back” as the humans were wont to say.

And so she found herself in the Mako with Shepard, who was acting a tad more reckless in her piloting than usual unfortunately, and Lieutenant Alenko. He was another source of awkwardness to Liara besides Shepard, the mess of her parents, and Chief Williams. Liara liked the lieutenant. He was very polite to her in all of their interactions; however, it was what the human didn't say that made them both a little uncomfortable. It seemed that she, the lieutenant, and Shepard were all aware of his feelings for the commander. They were all aware that Shepard did not return them and that she seemed to prefer Liara's company. She would not say that the human male was _jealous_ per say, however, it did not escape anyone's attention that he seemed to wish otherwise. At least he was not overly distracting. Liara had to admire Lieutenant Alenko's professionalism.

“Do you know why or who is going after the Alliance scientists, Commander?” Lt. Alenko asked carefully. Seemingly well aware of Shepard's temper.

Yes, Kaidan Alenko was more professional than Liara. He at least could find the courage to challenge Shepard's bad mood.

“The Alliance could only tell me that this has something to do with Akuze,” Shepard answered him shortly, concentrating on her unnecessary wild driving.

Liara and the lieutenant traded a surprised glance. Shepard had never acted overtly bothered over Akuze. Not when the many civilians they came across had brought up the event at any rate. Most liked to mention Shepard's heroism or survivalist skills when they spoke of it. No one in Liara's memory had ever disrespected the event and it seemed the commander had become used to talking about what was, without a doubt, a traumatizing experience. She suspected that those with a weaker will would have been crushed by it.

So, what then had changed?

“What do you believe this scientist had to do with Akuze, Shepard?” Liara asked suddenly.

She owed it to the commander to question her now. How could she possibly expect to have a healthy relationship with the human after all of this if they could not speak of difficult topics?

“Admiral Hackett has starting to think that maybe Akuze wasn't a complete accident. And so am I.”

The reply was the most terse Shepard had ever been with her, but Liara knew not to take it personally. She was actually wondering what was going through Shepard's mind at the moment. What was she was feeling in the wake of this rather surprising revelation? She was not particularly familiar with military culture. Even all the time she was spending on the Normandy could only teach her so much without actually going through any formal training. However, Liara had started to consider everyone on the ground team as part of... well... her team. They looked after each other in battle and trusted one another to keep them all alive. She knew that any of them could end up getting killed on this dangerous mission, but to lose the entire ground team except for herself? That was something she would not fathom. Especially after she considered Shepard and even her fledgling friendship with Tali.

Neither she or Lieutenant Alenko could think of anything to say to Shepard now. Perhaps there was nothing to say. Liara did not want to give the commander silly platitudes. The human wasn't exactly grieving; it seemed more like Shepard was on a mission of vengeance of all things. Liara hoped that she would not do anything too rash. They had no evidence either way. At the moment she and the lieutenant could only do what was expected of them as part of the team and hope they could get to the bottom of what was happening.

The world they had chased the scientist to, Ontarom was surprisingly beautiful. Liara found it extremely unfortunate that it could not be colonized. At least the different Council governments were making the effort to catalog the wildlife. Still, she couldn't help but wonder what this scientist could have possibly had to do with Akuze.

Unfortunately, it seemed they were beaten to the planet by whoever was hunting the man. Mercenaries greeted them once they made it to the facility. They were not able to put up much of a fight against the Mako, however, so it did not take long to get inside. Hopefully these men did not do anything rash such as kill the scientist before Shepard had a chance to speak with him. Liara did not think the commander would take to that well.

Luck seemed to be on the side though. One last mercenary had a man that was more than likely the scientist they were looking for held at gun point. Liara half expected Shepard to Throw the merc across the room, but she should have known that the human was more than capable of remaining disciplined and in control. She was a part of the Alliance special forces after all.

“Hey, who are-- My God, Shepard?” The mercenary nearly gasped out in apparent surprise.

“Toombs?!” Shepard seemed almost taken aback. “You're alive?”

“Yeah,” the man, Toombs, his voice cracked as he answered. “I thought I was the only one that made it out, but then I started to hear all about the first human Spectre.”

“What's going on here, Toombs? Why have you been going after Alliance scientists?” Shepard demanded, probably wanting to get to the bottom of this as quickly as she could.

“You don't know, Shepard. But I do. I bet they didn't think I'd ever escape. That they'd ever hear about Akuze ever again. But I'm not going to let them get away with it. Not after all the bastards did to everyone. To me,” Toombs ground out desperately and Liara wondered just what was driving him. What had these scientists allegedly done to him to motivate him to hunt down his victims across the galaxy?

“Wait a second! He's a madman, please! I have no idea what he's been talking about. He came in here with his mercenaries and started to shoot everyone. Please, you have to save me!” The scientist begged frantically.

“Shut up! You don't get to lie anymore!” Toombs shouted angrily. “I've come here to make you pay for everything you did.”

“What happened, Toombs?” Shepard asked, surprisingly calmly. Liara wasn't sure what that would bode for either man.

Everything was so chaotic. Liara wasn't quite sure who she wanted to believe. On one hand, this Toombs seemed very disturbed. On the other, this was not exactly the first time they had come across corrupt scientific experiments in the course of their mission. While that did not make Toombs's vague accusations true by any means, it did mean that the Normandy crew were much more open minded about any sort of situation than any other military crew would be in their stead.

“You were there, Shepard! You remember how those _things_ came out of the ground and killed everybody. They lured them there! They wanted to see what would happen. And everyone died. Except me. And it was _Cerberus_ that found me! I didn't get to go home and receive medals and parades. No, they locked me up and stuck needles in me, experimented with me. I still remember how the acid felt going through my whole body!” Toombs ranted madly. Liara doubted he was going to let the scientist survive this encounter without a fight if his strong emotions were any indication.

But his account sounded very similar to the Cerberus they had been finding on several different planets. It was an organization that Shepard seemed to have heard of, but never experienced. And it was quite the experience. Already the terrorist cell had killed an Admiral, stolen rachni from Noveria, or bought it considering the lawlessness of Noveria itself, and conducted research on Thorian thralls. All in the name of furthering humanity. Which Shepard, Lt. Alenko and Chief Williams all seemed disgusted by.

For her part, Shepard seemed entirely disgusted by what Toombs was telling her. Disgusted and perhaps even horrified if Liara could guess at the look on the human's face.

“Wait, you can listen to _him_! He's a madman!” The madman cried out as if he could read Shepard's emotions just as Liara had. He probably did.

Unfortunately, Shepard definitely believed Toombs over the scientist if pulling out her pistol and shooting the other human dead was any sign.

“Commander! I—“

Lieutenant Alenko was shocked and Liara had to admit that she wouldn't have expected Shepard to shoot the scientist simply on Toomb's word alone. The commander definitely didn't look like her normally calm, collected self either. No doubt Shepard had never been as at peace with Akuze as she had lead others to believe.

“Thanks, Shepard. You have no idea how long I've been chasing after these monsters. I can still hear the screams at night,” Toombs almost seemed to sag in relief. Liara found herself feeling sorry for the man. She wondered just how long he had spend trying to find his vengeance against the people he at least thought had wronged him so terribly.

“Commander, are you sure we couldn't have taken this guy in for questioning? What if he knows more than what we heard here?” Lt. Alenko asked, and he still sounded like he was more than a little uncomfortable by Shepard's choice.

Liara suspected that Lt. Alenko wasn't as sure of the scientist's guilt as Shepard was. And that he wasn't eager to outright challenge his commander's judgment over that. Liara wasn't certain if she believed Toombs either, but she did trust Shepard. The commander had yet to lead her crew wrong and was by all accounts an excellent leader and very well versed in making sound decisions. However, was Akuze different? Liara had certainly read up on the failed mission, but reading was very different from actually experiencing something, as she had come to discover. Any horror at what Liara had felt by simply reading the bare facts of the event was undoubtedly nothing compared to what Shepard had felt by actually surviving it.

“And what would that have done, Kaidan? Cerberus is practically untouchable,” Shepard said as she shook her head. “They killed Kahoku and nothing's come out of that. Nothing so much as an investigation even when I sent my reports to the Alliance. I know Toombs is crazy, he needs some help, but I remember Akuze too. I've never heard of a Thresher attack like that before or since.

“Come on Toombs. You're coming with us,” Shepard said, turning away from Kaidan.

It was apparent that Shepard wasn't going to talk any more about it and Liara wasn't going to push her. Not yet, though she planned to do so soon. She wasn't sure if the lieutenant was aware of Shepard's distress, but it was obvious to her.


	14. Chapter 14

She wasn't good at this. Goddess knew that socializing was never something Liara was comfortable with. Now she was trying to work up the courage to try to convince Shepard to open up about killing the scientist. Neither she or Lt. Alenko had said anything to the others about what had happened. They all took Shepard's account, which by all means wasn't actually false, but definitely a report that wasn't exactly forthright with every detail either. The last thing Liara wanted to do was to assume too much with the commander. It wasn't that she was _afraid_ of Shepard, because in all honesty she wasn't. Liara was much more frightened at the thought of messing up and pushing Shepard away. How could she be sure that she wouldn't say something stupid or insensitive?

“You ever leave this place? Looks boring here.”

Liara jolted and sighed irritably. And it was of course far too much to hope that Aethyta would leave her alone. A part of Liara felt that her life would be much easier if Shepard had forced her father off the Normandy with the Eclipse mercenaries. But she knew that the matriarch would have never agreed to that. She was perhaps _the_ most ridiculously stubborn person Liara had never met. That, and she had to grudgingly admit that Aethyta had been actually helping with her mother's situation. Kicking her off the Normandy would have been a terrible idea, though Liara really wished she'd stop trying to help Liara. It was irritating.

“I have plenty to occupy myself with,” Liara told her stiffly. Still angry about how her father had spoken to her in the mess hall.

She knew that her mother would certainly not like how she was addressing Aethyta. Regardless of what Aethyta and Benezia thought of each other, Benezia would never have encouraged anything less than polite conversation from Liara with anyone. As it was, Liara couldn't exactly help the terse response. She was still upset with them both for their extreme reluctance to take _anything_ that she said or felt seriously and their insistence to rule her life. One that either had certainly not been involved with for at least several years.

“I'll take that as a no,” Aethyta said while rolling her eyes. “Look, kid, I know things have been rough, but I sure as hell think that everything would go smoother if we don't snipe at each other. Your girlfriend seems to think we should all be buddies. Speaking of Shepard, what the hell is up with her? She's got something stuck up her ass if her shit mood is any indication.”

The last thing Liara wanted to get into with Aethyta were Shepard's problems. They were about as far from her concerns as they could get. Goddess knew that she was already nosy enough as it was. Liara wasn't going to encourage that annoying behavior intentionally.

“I think the difference between you and Shepard is that she's actually trying to work with you. Rather than attempting to blackmail everyone involved with Mother's custody,” Liara told her pointedly.

“Oh, kid. This is why your mom and I know you have no idea what you're getting into,” Aethyta shook her head and Liara felt her jaw tighten. Goddess, they must really think she's an idiot. “Liara, you have no idea the lengths people will go to so they can get them and theirs. Shit, look at what you've done in order to get to Nezzy. Fucking teamed up with a Spectre, tossed the books and picked up a damn gun. Can't say I'd ever thought I'd see that. I figured you took too much after your mom.”

“You don't know anything about me!”

Just who did Aethyta think she was? She hadn't ever been there to learn who Liara was, let alone be in the position to try telling her that she was acting out of the ordinary.

“I told you and Nezzy I've been watching you haven't I?” Her father cut in before Liara could give her a piece of her mind on _that_ subject. It was something Aethyta seemed to be particularly talented at and it was supremely irritating. “Now focus, kid. My point is, and I notice you didn't deny what you've been doing so don't think I don't pick up on shit, is that this crap isn't black and white. The Spectres aren't some superhero organization or nothing. Take it from me, I've met plenty. Most are nothing to write home about as far as upholding the law and protecting the meek or whatever the vids these days are saying. They're given a job by the Council and they'll finish that job in whatever means are necessary. They aren't too different from what I've had to do for the Matriarchy back when I was working for them.

“Now, before you get your panties in a bunch,” Aethyta glared at her, probably reading the insulted grimace on Liara's face for what it was, “for what it's worth, Shepard seems to be _mostly_ decent. But don't think that she didn't try to spin this to her advantage either when we were talking. I'm not trying to turn you against your girlfriend or whatever the fuck you think I'm doing, I'm just keeping things honest. If you really want to work together then drop this 'woe is me shit, my dad is a bitch,' attitude and use that head of yours to realize that I'm here to stay and that yeah, I do have the final say on how things are gonna go with your mother.”

Liara knew that Aethyta was aware she wasn't an idiot, when it came to her actual intelligence. Her maturity was a different matter entirely. However, she still didn't appreciate the implication that she was acting foolish in this instance. It didn't help that she didn't seem to grasp _why_ Liara was angry with her despite Liara's rather frequent objections to what Aethyta was doing. Yes, Liara was indeed frustrated that Aethyta seemed to completely control how she interacted with Benezia. Not that she couldn't see or talk to her mother, Shepard was in control of that domain, but she most certainly didn't like how her _father_ had marched in her life and convinced her mother that she was of most use at the T'Soni Estate, like a child. Still, she was aware that she was probably acting a little petty. It seemed she couldn't help but lose her temper around Aethyta and Liara knew that probably wasn't the most productive way to get her objections across. But, Goddess, was her father the first person she had ever met who could consistently cause her to lose her head. It would have been embarrassing if Aethyta wasn't so hard to deal with in the first place.

“I suppose that is your way of asking to put our differences behind us,” Liara sighed. “I can do that; however, as you have put it, it will be much easier if you and Mother realize that I am not going to simply sit at the estate while I have the opportunity to do something. I am making my own decisions. Something you and Mother seem to forget I've been doing for some time. This will be easier if you realize that I am an adult as well.”

Just what did they think she got up to at her digs? Not that trouble was particularly _common_ but it was a reality of her work. She went out in remote places of the galaxy, sometimes even alone, and had to fend for herself. She'd obviously been doing pretty well for herself. Well, aside from Therum, though neither Benezia nor Aethyta needed to know about _that._ The last thing either of them needed was even more ammo to torment her with.

“I'll be honest, kid. I would much rather drag you off the ship and take you to your mom's estate myself if I wasn't needed here and I was sure Shepard's people wouldn't put up too much a fight. And no, it's not because I'm determined to stand in the way of your life or shit,” Aethyta sighed then and rubbed the top of her crest. Liara would say it was an awkward motion, but she wasn't certain her father was capable of such an emotion. She was almost absurdly confident. “I'm not good at this stuff, believe me, I'm a 'do' kind of asari and a fighter. I sure as hell have never been good with words. If you asked Nezzy, she'd say that she doesn't want to see her only kid killed. And I can tell you that's as true as my ass is blue. I know I've come out of nowhere and I know that you aren't thrilled, but fuck, kid this isn't exactly easy for me either. Nezzy and I didn't split because we stopped caring. That's the whole reason I kept my people on you both. I made sure my other girls could damn well take care of themselves against anything. I'm not sure what Nezzy did for you. She isn't like me.”

If her life weren't already as improbable as it was, Liara would have been hesitant to believe that she was getting the answer to a question she had always had as soon as she realized that her parentage was not typical. Granted, it was surprisingly roundabout for a person usually so forward, but Liara guessed what Aethyta said was true. She probably wasn't too well versed in communicating her feelings so openly given her brash and tough demeanor.

Still, it was far from typical. Aethyta almost seemed… shy. Liara would never have imagined Aethyta could display such a trait and despite her own stubborn efforts to be hard on her father, she found herself softening. Slightly. Goddess, was Aethyta actually _concerned_ for her? It was always something her father had claimed, but this was the first time Liara had seen her words backed up by her actions.

“Mother made sure I knew how to fight,” Liara told her, slightly hesitantly. She didn't really have the heart to leave Aethyta wondering whether or not she knew how to properly defend herself. Was that perhaps a good portion of Aethyta's annoying insistence for Liara to return to the estate? “She taught me what I know about biotics and had me train with Shiala and the rest of our family's commandos once I was old enough.”

“Did she really?” Aethyta's eyes seemed to light up and she was wearing a smirk. Liara wondered if this was about to bode well for her or Benezia. “Damn, can't say I would have expected that. Your mom was always talking about how we should focus on cooperation instead of conflict. One of the things we butted heads on all the time.”

One of many things indeed. Aethyta and Benezia's bonding was a source of great mystery to Liara. Just what did they see in _each other?_ Forget the fact that Liara would never have predicted that her mother would consider Aethyta an appropriate bondmate, what about Aethyta's point of view? Just what did Benezia offer her in return?

“I will admit that was something that never did seem to fit what she would teach me. Mother is an accomplished biotic, as you probably know, and she did teach me how to use mine, but thinking back perhaps it is out of character for her to have taught me to actually fight with them rather than how to simply control them.” Was her mother taking a page out of Aethyta's philosophy? Perhaps they respected each other more than they would like to admit. “She always told me that I'd never know what I could come across at dig sites. Of course, I did come across mercenaries and pirates on occasion, but I can't say I expected even Shepard and Lt. Alenko to be impressed at what I could do.”

“Well shit,” Aethyta chuckled, but the sound wasn't very humor filled. “Nezzy really did listen to the stuff I said. Alright, Liara. I'm still not happy with you prancing around the damn galaxy with a Spectre, but I have to be realistic. There's no way I can look after Nezzy and watch your back at the same time. I still think you should be back at one of your digs or to Thessia, but we both know that we don't have time to circle around each other with the same shit over and over again. If you stop pouting at me, I'll stop trying to look for a way to get you home.”

Heat flooded Liara's face. “I'm not pouting!” And then she winced at how she had probably not helped her case with her outburst.

Liara huffed. “But yes, I will agree with the sentiment of those terms.”

“Great! Now how about you talk to your girlfriend so I can go visit Nezzy. She needs her meld and fuck it all if I have to deal with Shepard right now. I'm too old for whatever has her in a knot,” Aethyta grumbled irritably.

That was far easier said than done. Liara was beginning to suspect that she did indeed inherit her poor social skills form Aethyta. Benezia had a gift with words that inspired their entire government and then some considering how the matriarch was able to get even other species to agree with her so willingly. Liara knew that her mother wanted her to succeed her eventually. She knew that Benezia considered her work with the Protheans a hobby at best and one unsuited for a career long term.

That had been the crux of their entire disagreement and estrangement in the first place. She knew the truth, however. Liara was never going to be her mother. She didn't want to be, even though she held her mother in extremely high regard whether they were on speaking terms or not. At any rate, she did not know how she was going to broach this subject with Shepard. She had certainly _not_ inherited her mother's gift with words and that fact tended to trickle down into practically every social interaction in her life. Goddess help her, she _wanted_ to, but optimism had certainly never helped her relations with others.

Aethyta must have read the nervous grimace on her face because her father seemed to snort in amusement. Liara could only guess where this was going to go and she didn't really like what she was imagining.

“Don't tell me you're having a spat already? I would have figured you kids would fuck each other _way_ before fighting. You and Shepard get too misty eyed when you talk to each other,” Aethyta went from amusement straight to annoyance.

Liara decided to ignore the last comment. It had not taken her long to learn that Aethyta relished teasing both her and her mother. It wasn't a habit Liara felt she should encourage whenever possible. Besides, she was barely figuring out what Shepard meant to her, Liara wasn't about to talk about her burgeoning relationship, hopefully, with someone intent on teasing her about it already. Goddess only knew that Liara might just have an errant thought back to Aethyta's inappropriate comments while she's speaking with Shepard one day. And that would likely prove to be extremely embarrassing indeed.

“We aren't fighting, if you must know,” Liara snapped. “But something is bothering Shepard. I'm just not certain how to broach the subject.”

Didn't she just determine that she wasn't going to talk about Shepard with Aethyta? Liara sighed. She knew she needed help with this. The problem was that her choices for advisers were depressingly low in number. Her mother couldn't help her right now, Liara wasn't certain she wanted to speak with her so soon after their argument. Benezia would only think her a child with her first crush anyway. There was no way Liara was going to go to someone in Shepard's crew with her problem either. For one thing, most of the humans on the ship distrusted her. For another, Shepard had made it clear that she hadn't wanted the rest of the ground crew to know what was wrong with her. Liara wasn't going to betray her trust like that. So, it seemed her desire for help led her straight to the last person she thought she'd ask.

“Just ask her what's up. That simple, kid. Nezzy would tell you to be 'sensitive' and 'mindful' but that takes forever, and it sure as hell isn't sensitive anyway if you're beating around the bush and dragging out something the other person doesn't want to talk about.”

“That doesn't sound like it would work,” Liara said doubtfully. Just how would forcing her way into a subject that clearly bothered Shepard personally help her at all? Liara certainly knew from personal experience, especially lately, that forced conversations weren't something she was fond of. At all.

“Course it works,” Aethyta snorted. “You think I coddled your mother when she was feeling down? Shit, kid, Nezzy wasn't exactly for that either. Get it out in the open, fix the problem and you won't have to argue about something stupid later. Trust me, the angry sex isn't always worth it. What's your mom been teaching you?”

“Certainly nothing about her... relations with others!” Liara said quickly, trying and failing to suppress a shudder.

Liara didn't know whether she should be scandalized by Aethyta's increasing attempts to tell her things about her bonding with Benezia that she _did not_ want to know under any circumstances, or amused at the sight of Aethyta's obvious exasperation. It was not something she was accustomed to seeing directed at her mother. Not from anyone else but Liara herself anyway. If only it were about absolutely _anything else_ in the galaxy and Liara could freely enjoy this. As it was…. Goddess, she wondered if this was normal. Did fathers mercilessly tease their children? Liara really hoped so, otherwise this would probably be even more torturous to go through than it already was.

“See, I knew I shouldn't have made that deal,” her father was shaking her head. “If you can't get the guts to talk to your girlfriend, then you definitely don't have the guts to take on that Saren bastard.”

That snapped Liara out of her lamenting and right back into indignation. “I have done much that I'm certain you or Benezia have never even thought about!”

Why was Aethyta so determined to doubt what she could do? It wasn't that Liara took any kind of pleasure from having to fight rachni or face asari commandos, but the matriarch was at Noveria. She had seen the aftermath of what she, Shepard and Tali had done. To have her and her mother constantly remind her of her lack of age and experience didn't make much sense to her, especially since she has had to overcome people and species she was certain neither had ever experienced themselves. Didn't that count for anything? Liara knew that it didn't and the thought made her clench her jaw.

“Heh, sure, but only with the help of your girlfriend. Who, by the way, you seem too pussy-hearted to even ask a damn question. Nezzy let you hide like this? What am I asking, course she does,” Aethyta continued, throwing her hands up in frustration. “Must be why she let you go off on those digs. Goddess knows she would much rather have wanted you in the damn Forum. Probably figured you couldn't handle it yet.”

And that was the last straw for Liara. She was not a coward, no matter what Aethyta was implying. It seemed the infuriating matriarch was going to do nothing but relentlessly taunt her until she talked to Shepard. Not that she needed this kind of motivation. She was perfectly capable of talking to the commander. Perfectly. _Capable._

* * *

 

“Pull it together.”

It's what she had to do. Shepard knew she couldn't afford to fall apart. Not with her mission to catch Saren and stop the Reapers riding on her. She was at least grateful she wasn't about to have a mental breakdown. No, that had long since passed and Shepard welcomed the break from shrinks. Logically, she knew they were very important for both soldiers themselves and their squads. However, she never did like their constant prodding and resented them getting in the way of her job on some level.

No, what she needed to do was get her temper under control. She'd stopped mourning for her lost platoon a long time ago. It still hurt sometimes to remember that she was the only person, now only other person, to have made it out. Sometimes she still wondered if she were a coward for evacuating instead of fighting to her death. But then where would she be? Certainly not a Spectre and on this mission that no one seemed to be taking seriously besides her crew. Shepard was more pissed off than anything else.

To learn that Akuze _wasn't_ a tragic accident and perpetuated by a group that claimed to have humanity's best interest at heart.... What a joke. Cerberus was a damn terrorist cell and if she ever caught up with them there would be hell to pay, that much was certain. Of course, this meant that her crew didn't need to suffer her wrath in the meantime. Poor Garrus didn't deserve the dressing down she gave him over how the Mako's steering had been only slightly misaligned during last mission. The damn thing never steered right to begin with anyway. Her mother certainly would be ashamed of her right now. This was not how Shepards treated their crew.

She was just about to go give Garrus a well deserved apology when she nearly ran into Liara. Who appeared flushed and on the war path over something.

“Liara?” She asked in confusion, putting her arm out to steady her obviously flustered… friend. Yeah… friend.

“Shepard, I need to talk to you,” Liara practically demanded and Shepard found herself at a bit of a loss.

Was Liara upset with her? Shepard didn't remember anything she did that would have angered her. Unless she was angry that Shepard shot the scientist. The commander had to admit that was certainly understandable for her and probably Kaidan to feel that way. Despite her feelings and high confidence that the man was indeed behind Akuze in a significant way, she knew that to outside observers her actions were inexcusable. Maybe they were inexcusable outright, but Shepard found that she didn't much care about that. Or maybe she had snapped at Liara without realizing it? That was very much possible what with her horrible mood. Shepard really hoped that wasn't the case. She wasn't eager to sabotage a potential relationship with someone she was finding that she cared for more everyday. Besides Liara was probably the last person that needed more problems, especially Shepard's problems.

“Are you okay?” Shepard asked carefully.

Better to start diplomatically.

“What? Why would I not be okay?” Liara asked, obviously confused but slightly irritated as her eyes narrowed slightly. “I was actually coming to ask you the same question.”

Okay, now she was really confused. Was Liara angry on her behalf? That sounded cute, actually.

“You just seem upset about something.”

“Oh,” Liara muttered, a blush rising to her cheeks. “I'm sorry, Shepard. I was just speaking with Aethyta. She has a tendency of setting me on edge.”

Now that wasn't surprising in the least. That appeared to be a damn talent for the matriarch. Still, Aethyta wasn't _too_ bad. Shepard guessed they probably saw eye to eye on a lot, all things considered. The asari just saw her as an obstacle to her goal of rescuing her former wife from certain death, while dragging her estranged daughter onto a suicide mission. It honestly wasn't very hard to empathize with her, but Shepard did wish she wasn't constantly the target of Aethyta's frustration all the same..

“Over what?” Shepard figured the topic had to be an interesting one, at the very least, to get Liara this worked up. Shepard didn't think she'd ever seen Liara this on edge over something.

“You, actually,” Liara admitted uncomfortably. “I told her I wanted to talk to you and, I'm sorry to say Shepard, I was not sure how to talk to you without being insensitive. Aethyta thought I was being a coward. It's not that I was _afraid_ of talking to you, but, Goddess, she seemed utterly incapable of considering that you may be uncomfortable talking about something so personal. Of course, I tried to tell her that, but she kept prodding me about the most _ridiculous_ things and I….”

Poor Liara looked like she didn't mean to say so much as she trailed off in embarrassment, but Shepard didn't care. Well, she did in that she found it absolutely adorable that Liara trusted her enough to word vomit in front of her. It certainly wasn't something she would ever hold against Liara. Unfortunately Shepard couldn't help but chuckle at how that particular conversation must have gone down.

Liara looked both indignant and a little hurt.

“What? Oh, no, Liara, I'm sorry. I don't mean anything by laughing. You just reminded me of something I was just thinking about. Sounds to me Aethyta was throwing some tough love at you. Something my mom would definitely have done with me. She'd kick my ass if she saw how I was acting,” Shepard had to rub the back of her neck at the thought. It probably wasn't very fair of her to laugh a little at Liara's predicament when she knew that her own mother would probably have been _even worse_ with her. Yeah, this wasn't going to be a story Shepard would give in their too few vid calls any time soon….

“I don't think my mother has ever had to use 'tough love,'” Liara quoted, the words coming obviously unfamiliar to her. “The closest she's come was our estrangement, thought I will admit that was perhaps more of my doing than hers.” Liara seemed to frown at the thought, but Shepard didn't really know what she could be thinking of. She did know that Liara had been confronting some very clearly sore spots in her relationship with her mother lately. Something Shepard figured she deserved a break from.

“Well, tough love is more about calling someone you care about out on what they're doing wrong. Instead of being completely supportive of everything you do, they'll tell you you're being stupid and to wise up,” Shepard told her, pleased when Liara wrinkled her nose as she shook herself from whatever she had been thinking over.

“No, Benezia wasn't quite like that. She told me she didn't think studying the Protheans was a proper use of my time, but she also said that she would help fund my research until I was ready to quit. Aethyta on the other hand,” Liara's brow furrowed, joining her wrinkled nose in making an obviously distaste filled expression, “has been doing nothing but nettle me over various choices I have made and implied I'm foolish for making them.”

“Yeah, that'd be tough love,” Shepard grinned at Liara's expression. Poor Liara was more than a little out of her depth in dealing with her long lost father. It really would have been funny if this weren't such an obviously sore spot for Liara.

“But I don't want to talk about my problems,” Liara brushed off quickly, eager to pass the buck onto Shepard, for now. “I actually came to see if I could help you. Are you all right, Shepard? I can't imagine how you feel right now.”

A part of Shepard wished that they could talk about Liara's problems more. It was selfish, and she knew it, but helping Liara with her issues sounded much easier than dealing with her own at the moment. Still, how could she hope to try a relationship out with Liara after all this if she never trusted her with anything?

“I don't think I'll ever be able to talk about what happened at Akuze in detail,” Shepard finally said with a grimace. Might as well go all out and get this over with. “Not after having to give a detailed, fleshed out report to the Alliance and a few shrinks. It's something I'd... well, not forget. It's not something I ever could forget if I even wanted to. I'd just like to leave it where it is. People usually have their own ideas of what happened there. They hear I survived a Thresher nest with the rest of my platoon getting killed and they tend to make their own conclusions. Usually about a bunch of heroics they're sure I committed in order to make it out. I used to _hate_ that, but there's not much I can change about it, so I let it slide now.

“Toombs, as crazy as he is, is a greater hero than I am. I ran, Liara. There's not much I can say about it. The Threshers appeared, everyone started dying and anyone that wasn't immediately killed ran for the shuttles. I just happened to be the fastest. I had survivor's guilt for a long time. I probably wouldn't have made it out and back on the front lines if I didn't realize I wasn't doing anyone any favors by lying around and brooding. It was an accident. No one could have done anything to keep my platoon from dying and it was better that I learn from it and try to move on.”

It was easier to say now than it had been to realize as she tried to move on and recover. What she told Liara had been true. It was better to leave Akuze where it was, a memory. Correcting people over it was fruitless, most couldn't even imagine what she had gone through, let alone try to empathize with her. And endlessly obsessing over what happened wasn't going to change anything either.

“And then you found out that Cerberus was behind it,” Liara continued for her, pulling Shepard from her thoughts.

“I don't like Cerberus, Liara. They're terrorists,” she growled. “There's no other word for them. I _hate_ that they try to act on humanity's behalf. They're actively getting in the way of our efforts to convince the rest of the galaxy to like us, not to mention what they do to the humans they claim they're trying to help. But to learn they were behind Akuze? Kaidan probably thinks I went too far, and maybe I did, but I don't feel guilty over shooting him. I believe Toombs and I sure as hell believe that Cerberus would have protected him from any real justice if I brought him in. So I killed him myself.”

She expected Liara to tell her she was crazy to believe Toombs. Expected her to be horrified at her non-guilt at essentially killing a man in cold blood. But Liara was just determined to be full of surprises, though, as she smiled at Shepard sadly.

“Well, I don't think you should have yelled at Garrus, if you want my opinion. Shepard, I have to tell you that your piloting of the Mako leaves much to be desired,” Liara said bemusedly, not even bothering to hide the nearly pained wince at even the memory of Shepard's driving. “I'm afraid it's very possible that the misalignment could have been caused by your determination to drive it off cliffs.”

This time Shepard laughed outright and full bellied. Is that what everyone thought? Why hadn't anyone told her before?

“Don't worry, T'Soni. I was already making my down to apologize to him.”

She was definitely being an idiot. There was no reason why Liara couldn't comfort Shepard when she needed it in return. Liara didn't need a protector after all, but maybe Shepard did on occasion.


	15. Chapter 15

“Damn, I hate this thing in your head, Nezzy," Aethyta nearly spat as their meld faded.

Her words brought a near painful roll of Benezia's eyes. Who wouldn't hate the indoctrination?

“Yes, I can't say I'm happy about it either," she drawled, resisting the urge to lash out at Aethyta. Goddess, she was exhausted and the near constant headache she was burdened with didn't particularly help her mood.

“Ah," Aethyta snorted, "see, look you're already feeling better if you can take that tone with me.”

Benezia didn't bother trying to hide her second eye roll. But yes, Aethyta was right in that this was probably going to be a “good” day for her, despite her exhaustion. The persistent headache was still there, but it seemed Aethyta was more prepared for what she would encounter and that made it easier to help Benezia shore up her mental defenses. Her better mood could definitely be useful in convincing her wayward daughter to return to the estate. At least in making it easier to think. It was fortunate that Liara volunteered to supervise Aethyta today who was a now constant visitor. She suspected her former bondmate didn't want her to get lonely, something Aethyta would probably _never_ admit, she was entirely too stubborn. Previously it had been Shepard or her lieutenant that would accompany Aethyta. Liara had probably been too upset with her still, and Benezia was beginning to suspect that Shepard was suspicious of Aethyta's surprising cooperation.

Which would be an entirely wise stance to take.

Benezia turned to Liara then, determined to get started on her attempt to dissuade her from her decision. Waiting was only going to make things harder. “Liara, have you given more thought to what I have told you?”

“Yes, Mother. In fact, Aethyta and I have come to an agreement over my involvement with Shepard's mission," her daughter informed her, not sounding even as remotely irritated as she had in her previous visit.

That was _certainly_ an ominous sign, if their faces were any indication. Liara looked far too pleased and Aethyta appeared guilty. Guilt never really looked good on Aethyta and typically meant that Benezia was going to _hate_ what she was about to tell her.

“And what was this agreement?” Benezia posed the question calmly. Whatever had happened was already done, after all. She may as well stay informed, even if she was undoubtedly going to vehemently disagree with whatever nonsense her former bondmate had done to make Liara appear to pleased.

“Look, Nezzy," Aethyta started very near awkwardly as she rubbed the back of her neck, "I know you're probably going to be upset that I didn't talk to you about this first, and yeah, maybe I should have in this case. It's not like the kid is involved in whatever bullshit charges are being brought against you and this isn't about your suicidal moods. So, it's not like you would have been unable to stay reasonable with this, heh….”

No it was certainly _never_ good when Aethyta tried to placate her about something. It happened very rarely. She was usually far too stubborn to admit she made a mistake, but when her ex-bondmate did, it was usually over something serious. Perhaps this wouldn't be a good day after all.

“I am going to assume that you have approved her place on the Normandy in spite of the fact that you are _not_ her mother," Benezia snapped in a sudden bolt of clarity. That was the only issue Aethyta could be feeling remotely guilty about. Hadn't they just agree that Liara on the Normandy was a _mistake_? Hadn't they just spoke of this? And then Aethyta had the gall to make this decision without her.

Benezia had to violently crush her own ball of guilt that appeared with those thoughts. She did not want to think about the hypocrisy that came with her stance on this particular issue. She was furious. Goddess, it was one thing to disagree with Benezia over her plans to introduce Liara to the Forum, she had no real problem with that. It was something she knew Aethyta wouldn't be particularly fond of in the first place, not even regarding their differing views over whether or not Liara could handle such a profession. Aethyta practically despised politics to begin with. No, this was _completely_ different. This was about Liara's immediate safety. They _both_ knew that Liara had no real experience dealing with military and combat. Yet, Aethyta had stopped attempting to dissuade their daughter anyway, knowing the probable consequences. Was this some kind of selfish desire to get back at Benezia for separating the two?

“Hey, we could probably have an easier time co-parenting and shit if I had actually been involved in Liara's life," Aethyta snapped. "Speaking of which, do you coddle the kid? I had to practically give her a kick in the ass after I found her moping in that damn storeroom.”

“I wasn't _moping_!” Liara exclaimed indignantly.

“I seem to remember agreeing that I'd allow her to go her own way, Aethyta. I haven't sheltered her from her desires," Benezia ignored Liara's outburst, preferring to focus on her infuriating ex-bondmate. Goddess, this was about their separation, wasn't it? Benezia wasn't about to allow Aethyta to criticize her parenting decisions. She wasn't even present to have witnessed them in the first place, yet now she was directly conflicting with her decisions regarding _her_ daughter.

“That's not what I'm talking about. Have you ever told her she's being an idiot? Or to take take care of her shit? Athame's bright, blue ass, Nezzy! _This_ is the kind of shit I've worried about. You don't have it in you to be hard on her when she needs it," Aethyta threw up her arms in frustration.

The sight had Benezia gritting her teeth. She didn't even know Liara well enough to realize that she wasn't the type of child to respond well to heavy handed tactics.

Benezia refused to think about why that was the case at the moment.

“I don't think being too hard on her would have allowed her to mature properly, Aethyta.”

“Yeah, that's what I was afraid of. Nezzy, I'm not talking about constantly dressing the kid down over stupid crap. I'm talking about letting her hide from her problems. I mean damn, the kid doesn't know how to talk to people to save her life. She doesn't have a way with words like you do and she definitely doesn't just come out with what's bothering her like I do. How in the _fuck_ do you expect her to function properly in the real galaxy?" Aethyta threw at her.

Liara was regarding them both with blatant disbelief, but Benezia couldn't find it in her to care at the moment. “I am right here!”

“That was something I've simply had to come to accept about Liara. When angered she can be properly motivated, something I'm sure she's gotten from you, but Liara would much rather keep to herself and her studies than get into confrontations or uncomfortable situations. I am sure she will grow out of it," Benezia said, very nearly through gritted teeth. She didn't want to give Aethyta the satisfaction.

Goddess, Liara was just over one hundred. There was _plenty_ of time to allow her to mature and grow out of her awkward phase. The entire maiden stage was an excuse to be awkward in the first place. Liara was certainly capable of developing more confidence, she already possessed it when dealing with her studies. She merely had to learn to apply her that confidence to the other aspects of her life. Something Benezia was sure Liara would learn to do with time.

“Mother, _please_. Must you talk about me like—“

“That's a lot to hope for, Nezzy," Aethyta scoffed. "Bet you one trip to Tuchanka, living with the krogan for a month would have fixed this right up.”

“ _That_ would have been out of the question. I have heard of the rites the krogan like to partake in and I know you would not have been able to resist," she glared. No, Liara was _not_ going to be taking on a damned thresher maw on foot. The krogan had many good qualities to their culture. Benezia did not believe their near suicidal rites of passage were one of them.

“See, there you go again acting like I don't know shit about taking care of kids. Liara's not my only one, as you damn well know," Aethyta returned her glare, not ever backing down. "Fuck, I've probably got about four damn centuries over you on raising kids! None of my girls are fucking dead, for Athame's sake, so why the fuck are you always acting like I'd have killed Liara for sure?"

“I have half-sisters?”

“I think you know I'm not a crap parent anyway," Aethyta continued, ignoring Liara as Benezia was at the moment. Liara was glaring at them both, but Benezia knew that she and Aethtya were getting much too caught up in one of their fights again. It was certainly nothing new. "Liara told me that you taught her how to fight and let her train with Shiala. Something I _specifically_ remember telling you to do before we split.”

“Don't pretend I thought you were a fool, Aethyta. As _you_ well know we would not have been together to begin with if that were so."

Did Aethyta think her as foolish as she undoubtedly figured Benezia thought of her? Benezia knew that she had probably caused this belief in Aethyta in the first place, what with the way she had purposefully acted towards her directly after their bonding. Aethtya's intelligence had always been a secret source of insecurity for her former bondmate. So many other Matriarchs considered Aethyta to be a violent brute, incapable of reason. Her crass manner hiding the intelligence that Benezia never had trouble detecting.

And that insecurity was precisely what Benezia targeted to push Aethyta as far away from her as she possibly could. Still, that was in the past. She didn't actually believe that Aethyta was even nearly as unintelligent as she sold herself for and she had never treated Aethyta anything less than her equal during their actual bonding. It was frustrating that she could forget that; however, that did not stop another lurch of guilt from trying to bubble up within Benezia's stomach. Goddess, she _wanted_ to be angry with Aethyta right now. Not… something else.

“Could have fooled me. If you thought so much of me, I'd think you'd leave more than a damn note about leaving with the kid.”

“I will not get into that conversation in front of Liara," Benezia said firmly. Liara couldn't possibly hide her expression of pure interest, and Benezia was very much aware that her daughter was the last person who needed to be burdened with the truth.

“Oh, yeah, don't think you're fooling me, Benezia T'Soni. I'm not going to let you talk your way out of giving me the fucking truth. Not when the kid thinks that I'm the reason we split. Shit, did you tell her _nothing_?" Aethyta suddenly seemed to grow seriously upset. Before, she and Benezia had been arguing as they once had. Certainly, they both had points in their debate that they cared for, but their 'fights' were typically competitive rather than personal. And this fight had been fated to become personal from simply its subject matter alone. "Way I see it, this is the perfect time to get into this. Get it all out in the open.”

Benezia felt her headache grow stronger. From more natural causes this time. Admittedly, this was something she never really did plan to speak about with Liara. Her relationship with Aethyta was only with her former bondmate. Liara had no idea who she was, something she had not planned to rectify until Liara was probably another century or two older. Liara, of course, had become silent as soon as she sensed that the subject in this argument had shifted to something… _more_.

“Aethyta, there is not much truth to be given," Benezia deflected. She was going to be forced to retreat in this fight, she knew. There was no way she was going to admit the actual truth, after all. Yet, she did realize that it was not at all fair of her to place all of Liara's blame onto Aethyta. Despite the fact that Benezia was currently furious with Aethyta, she had not ever wanted Liara to believe that she had been to blame for their separation. Benezia had hoped that their daughter would have guessed it was something they had both decided on, in some manner or another. As it was, she certainly understood the heat behind Aethyta's anger. It had to have pained her to realize that Liara disliked her because of something she _thought_ Aethyta had done, rather than her actual decisions. Benezia sighed, wishing there was an easier way to address this. "I am sure you have long since guessed the reason for our separation. Beyond that, you know as well as I do that our bonding had begun to sour.”

“I want you to tell the kid the truth," Aethyta demanded harshly. "She's not going to believe it any other way and I'm not going to hear much more of her thinking _I_ was the one that left. Besides, it's not like you ever gave me a straight answer anyway. I want to hear you say that you cared more about the damned Matriarchy and Forum than me. Let the kid _know_ that it was you all along, dammit!"

Benezia was starting to resent being locked in the Normandy's brig. Had Shepard and Aethyta only listened to reason, she would not be here, forced to air truths she would have preferred to keep to herself. She knew that Aethyta was not going to leave until Benezia gave her what she wanted, not this time. Liara had certainly always wanted to know about her father and as curious as she was, Little Wing was definitely not going to let this drop either. Benezia wasn't entirely sure where her daughter inherited her stubborn streak, her or Aethyta. Their mutual determination to hide a long kept and dangerous secret, and reveal that which should not be uncovered, respectively, were mutually exclusive and Benezia knew that neither of them were going to surrender any time soon. Goddess, why wasn't there another way to give Aethyta what she wanted, Liara's forgiveness, without giving empty and cold reasonings behind her decisions?

Benezia did realize that there probably wasn't one, and she wondered at just how selfish she must be to try to avoid the consequences behind her decisions. The only way to placate Liara about Aethyta's absence was to take the blame entirely upon herself, she knew. And Liara already resented Benezia enough as it was. Goddess, Benezia did not want to think about how well such thoughts reflected on her. Despite everything, Aethyta had returned, whether Benezia wanted her to or not, and was risking her life and reputation to stand with her, and yet Benezia wished that she would not have to risk her daughter's scorn in place of Aethyta. It was cowardly, she knew, and the only way to remedy her selfish desires were to go through with them despite what she would wish.

“Very well," Benezia conceded after several moments of tense silence. "Yes, I wanted to make sure that my position in our government was a strong one. Aethyta, perhaps you think it was easy for me to let what we had go, but this was far bigger than our bonding. I was one of the strongest proponents for cooperation with the other races and your radical ideas, no matter whether I agreed with them, were damaging the platform I was building with my allies. Had we stayed together, I fear Aellis would have convinced the others to follow her in an isolationist route for our people. Perhaps I should have left earlier. I now know that I was projecting my intentions to leave into our bonding itself and I know you picked up on that, Aethyta. It lead to more resentment than was necessary.”

Aethyta shook her head, as if resigned to the realization that Benezia had been just as ruthless as she must have thought of her since her departure. Well, that was probably true enough regardless. “Was that so damn hard? Shit, I still think you could have put that in the note you left.”

She was beginning to suspect that the note was going to be a constant source of resentment between the two of them. Benezia knew that she should have probably gotten the courage to tell Aethyta she was leaving her directly, even at the time she had chosen not to do it. But it had been _so_ hard. Benezia knew that she was not leaving for the actual reasons she had just given Aethyta and Liara, _she_ had known that there was so much more behind her choice than Aethtya would likely ever guess. Benezia didn't truly want her to guess at those reasons, let alone realize that they were there in the first place. No, it _was_ better this way, for Aethyta and Liara, however Benezia did not anticipate just how _painful_ it was going to be to actually leave. To leave and force her bondmate to believe that she was the one at fault for Benezia making the decision she did. For the life of her, Benezia could not help the spike of resentment that formed at the mention of the note. Goddess, she had done the _best_ she could have with what she was forced to deal with. She didn't know where that resentment was directed, though. Whether at Aethyta for mentioning it, fate for what it had dealt them, or the Forum itself. Perhaps all three.

“I have had a century to accept our separation, yes this was far easier to explain than on the last night I ever lived with my bondmate," Benezia ground out.

It was delivered sharper than she would have liked. Benezia knew that out of the two of them, she needed to keep her temper in check. She was the one who had all of the answers. Benezia was the one who held the responsibility of keeping them all safe. She could not afford to allow Aethyta to break through her defenses and get her to admit something that should be kept to herself at all costs. She remembered that she had not always put forth the effort to be as controlled in their fights, but she would do so now for the sake of Liara. She doubted a heated argument was something their daughter needed to see.

“And I guess letting the kid visit or something was out of the question?” Aethyta asked, more than a little bitterly. “Seriously, Nezzy, I don't like that you chose politics over us but it's something I learned to live with. Hell, I would have fucking _left_ the Forum if you asked me.” The subtle emphasis on 'left' was something Benezia did not miss, but she doubted that telling Aethyta she purposely pushed her out of the Forum was for her own good. Athame only knew just how enraged that would make her former bondmate. “But I don't think I'll ever get why you couldn't let Liara at least know about me. Was the pureblood shit really that important to you? Why have a kid with me to begin with? I know it's not a damn secret that I was an asari. Everybody knew.”

“Mother,” Liara finally interjected, the sheer hesitance of her voice finally forcing both Aethyta and Benezia to pay attention to her, “no one has ever confronted me directly about being pureblood. I'm sure they spoke of it amongst themselves, but I doubt that would have changed had Aethyta took an active part of my life.”

The reminder of what her daughter must have gone through because of her parentage wasn't a pleasant one. She had tried to temper Liara's exposure to the bigorty, but she should have known she wouldn't have been able to spare her daughter of everything. Benezia had not missed Liara's word choice. No one may have directly said anything to her, but Benezia was very much aware of what people could do to harm one another without directly addressing their issues. Benezia should not have found Liara's decision to speak up now unexpected, but she did. It shouldn't surprise her that Liara would actually defend Aethyta. She had always been empathetic. However, from what she could tell, her daughter did not appear to like her ex-bondmate very well, likely because Benezia had inadvertently allowed Liara to draw her own incorrect conclusions of her and Aethyta's failed bonding because of Benezia's inability to give her daughter any answers over the subject. And it was obvious that it hurt Aethyta to bear the brunt of that dislike, Benezia could read the resigned pain in Aethyta's eyes every time Liara snapped at her. Benezia should have spoken to Liara about her father long ago.

Aethyta appeared just as surprised as Benezia felt to hear their daughter suddenly support her position and she furrowed her brow at Liara suspiciously.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Liara asked them both uncomfortably.

Aethyta shrugged nonchalantly, but Benezia guessed she was much more pleased with this development than she was going to act. "Never thought you'd take my side is all."

"I am only telling the truth."

Liara would not look directly at either of them, however. Something she did when she wasn't being entirely truthful. Did Aethyta gain favor with their daughter after agreeing to allow her to stay on the Normandy? Or more likely, was Liara feeling guilty after Benezia had admitted that Aethyta had not abandoned them a century ago as she had thought?

Still, Benezia was not going to allow her daughter to brush off how the stigma had affected her. She probably thought that Benezia did not know, but she had certainly kept an eye on Liara, and the people around her, even throughout their estrangement. She was _not_ going to allow her daughter to bear the brunt of Benezia's choice to conceive with Aethyta in any way that she could realistically prevent.

“The stigma has materialized in other ways,” Benezia pointed out. “Rejected publications, internship denials; Liara do not think I encourage you to leave archeology studies out of simple pettiness.”

“I am not going to become a politician, Mother,” Liara shot back quickly and hotly. Her anger mildly reinvigorated at the reminder of Benezia's disapproval. “I _will_ continue studying the Protheans regardless of whether I have a stigma against me. I am a scientist, eventually my colleagues will accept my findings because they will be unable to ignore the evidence.”

If only it were so easy. Liara had a zeal for her study that she had encountered only once before. In the same manner at least, Aethyta was hardly one for academics. A dogged passion that fueled both their stubborn personalities and their enduring spirits. Benezia was well aware of the challenges and issues her daughter faced, yet they did nothing to belay her opinion that archeology, an obsession with the past, did nothing for the future. The danger, not only in the field, but even on Thessia within the secrets held by Matriarchs since the asari began, were also a large concern. Liara was nothing short of brilliant, and Benezia feared that others would begin to notice this fact, just as Saren has.

“Perhaps you will realize my wisdom in time,” Benezia chose to brush off Liara's attitude. She wasn't in the mood to argue with her today. “Regardless, I will admit that your parentage had unforeseen consequences. I regret that you have had to suffer the fallout of actions that were not your own, Liara.”

“Kid has a point though. The asari that care about this shit are too scared to tell her they have a problem. I bet you a few good hits would convince them to drop the whole damn issue completely,” Aethyta sniffed darkly, and unconsciously popping her knuckles. Undoubtedly imagining the fights she could have started on Liara's behalf. “Your reputation had some of them hiding, I bet. I could have taken care of the rest.”

“Aethyta,” Liara said bemusedly. Benezia could certainly commiserate with what her daughter was more than likely thinking. She had smoothed more than her share fights that her bondmate had started over the years. “I don't think using violence against all of my detractors would have helped.”

“That's probably because you've never tried it,” Aethyta smirked. “You should. Next time you feel the urge to give someone a good headbutt, don't hold back.”

“What? I have never had any urge to headbutt anyone.”

Liara seemed almost alarmed at the very thought of doing such a thing. Benezia couldn't help the undignified snort that escaped. If her daughter thought the idea of headbutting someone was distasteful, she had no idea just what the results looked like in real life. Benezia had been a direct witness to Aethtya's idea of what negotiating meant. It… hadn't been pretty. However, Benezia had conceded at the time that Aethyta had gotten what she had wanted in the end. It was _not_ what Benezia would have chosen to do, but _perhaps_ violence could strong arm a favorable result if there was no other choice.

“Really? Not even a little bit? You're a quarter krogan for Goddess sake.”

Benezia sighed at Aethyta's disbelief. She had no idea why she kept insisting on this kind of ignorance. “I don't know how many times I have to tell you that isn't how it works.”

“I've had kids with hanar, Nezzy. Don't tell _me_ how it works,” Aethyta shot back.

Liara and Aethyta also seemed to share a dogged passion to believe what they would. Thankfully Liara proved to be simply willful rather than purposefully ignorant. Though Aethyta could be trying to irritate her purposefully, that was always possible.

“Relax, Nezzy,” Aethyta continued, with a healthy eye roll. “Having a quarter krogan kid isn't the end of the galaxy. You never know when a good blood rage will get her out of a jam.”

It seemed possible was actually probable.

“I can't recall any time your temper has ever benefited us,” Benezia retorted. “Not without significant assuaging on my part to the people you have attacked over the years.”

Aethyta scoffed. “What? You don't think me taking on the damned Matriarchy is beneficial?”

“No, I _really_ don't.”

“I agree with Aethyta in this instance, Mother,” Liara interrupted.

“See? I always knew any kid of yours would be smart.”

“I do not wish to speak of your foolhardy plan, Aethyta,” Benezia sighed, rubbing her temples. Perhaps it would be better to give up this argument for now. She still had yet to address Aethyta's utterly ill advised decision to allow Liara to join Shepard. “Tell me what Liara has agreed to for your assumed permission to assist Commander Shepard.”

Better to change the subject now before either Aethyta or Liara realized that the pureblood stigma was not the main reason she had kept the two separated.

“Kid promised to cooperate with me instead of sniping at me. Now that you finally told her the truth and with our understanding, I can focus on kicking the fucking Matriarchy into gear.”

“You were perfectly capable of doing so before. I do not remember inviting you into my quarters, you certainly did not have to argue with me at any point. In fact, I would have preferred that you focused on Mother in the first place,” Liara snapped.

“Hey, what did we just talk about? Damn, kid. First you're siding with me, now you're trying to tell me you don't want anything to do with me. Which I know is bullshit, by the way. You wouldn't be getting _nearly_ as twitchy if this didn't matter to you,” Aethyta shot back. She had a point. Liara actually wasn't prone to emotional outbursts typically. Benezia was honestly still shocked that Liara had managed to find enough confidence to say even half of the things she had told her and Aethyta. No, Benezia was beginning to doubt Liara's dislike of Aethyta.

“I do not appreciate the implication that I am standing in your way to helping my mother,” their daughter ground out.

“Shit,” Aethyta sighed, “that's not what I meant. I'm only saying that I don't exactly enjoy arguing with you. I'd rather we can talk to each other without the bullshit.”

Despite seeing Liara's displays of temper for herself, Benezia had hoped that Liara would not make a habit of them. Aethyta did not deserve to be abused by their daughter, Benezia knew that. She had been too angry with Aethyta earlier to admit that, preferring to allow her bondmate to bear the brunt of Liara's anger at the time. Best to nip this behavior in the bud now that she was thinking clearer. “Liara T'Soni, I certainly hope you have not been acting disrespectful.”

Though, this disrespect was certainly a rarity. Benezia was not lying to Aethyta when she told her their daughter much preferred to avoid unpleasant situations. She definitely would not be the one instigating confrontations in normal circumstances. Then again, it wasn't typical for her mother to be incarcerated pending evidence to exonerate her of treason and then have her, admittedly at times infuriating, father suddenly appear in her life. No, it perhaps it wouldn't do well to be _too_ disapproving.

At least Liara's embarrassed blush has not changed in the years they have not spoken. Something Benezia hoped to end eventually. It had not been her intention to push Liara so hard that she would avoid Benezia for these past years. Though she did know that maidens Liara's age were notorious for going to extreme lengths in order to find their own paths in life.

“I... have not tried to be,” Liara sighed, slightly abashed.

“She wasn't too bad,” Aethyta stepped in, apparently happy to return the favor Liara had given her earlier. “Just frustrated.”

Benezia raised her brow, knowing just how difficult Aethyta could be to deal with. Perhaps Liara wasn't completely to blame here. “I can imagine that you have contributed a fair amount to her frustration.”

“Hey, you know me, Nezzy. I can rattle people sometimes.” Aethyta grinned.

“I am sure it is only _sometimes,”_ Benezia drawled.

They all fell into silence for several moments. Benezia wondered if it could be described as comfortable. She certainly wasn't accustomed to all three of them being in the same room together, let along getting into and solving familial arguments. Perhaps this is something akin to what they would have experienced as a family if she had not left. If fate had chosen another path for them all to take.

“Mother,” Liara finally said. “I appreciate that you have told me what led to your separation, but I must attend a meeting with Shepard.”

“Yeah, a ' _meeting_ '.” Aethyta grinned salaciously and Benezia tried to repress the amusement she felt— she truly did— at what she guessed was to come from the direction Aethyta planned to take this conversation. Oh, Liara _definitely_ wasn't accustomed to her father's brand of humor.

“Yes, with the entire ground team, if you must know,” Liara was frowning, undoubtedly confused by Aethyta's emphasis, but unable to spot it for what it was.

“Slow down, kid!” Aethyta laughed. “Orgies are great and all, but save that for after you have your first Joining. Do I need to talk to Shepard again?”

Perhaps it was only a little shameful, but Benezia could not help but suddenly see why Aethyta took so much pleasure in teasing others. She would certainly never prod Liara in such a way herself, but the sputtering her daughter was currently doing was nothing short of amusing.

“I—what?! _No_! Must you make everything sound so _tawdry_?!”

“Yes, Little Wing, she certainly does,” Benezia couldn't repress the laughter in her own voice, despite her best efforts.

“I still cannot see how you fit together. You're entirely different! It is a meeting to brief us on our pending operation on Virmire, not an... an _orgy_.” Liara was blushing fiercely and looked more than a little indignant that both her parents were taking amusement at her expense. Oh, if only she knew that Benezia would undoubtedly become a victim to Aethyta's antics eventually as well. Benezia figured that she may as well enjoy this while she still had the chance.

Aethyta sobered, though. Probably interested in the commander's plans. “Shepard told you anything about this that the rest of your pals might not know?”

“No,” Liara answered grudgingly.

“No pouting, remember? I'm only asking so you can keep an eye out for anything to clear your mom.”

“I'm not—“ Liara interrupted herself as she took a deep breath, refusing to take any more of Aethyta's bait.

Benezia would have to tell her daughter later that outwardly showing her obviously considerable effort to collect her patience would only encourage Aethyta.

“Shepard has not given me any special information. She treats me _professionally_ in this regard,” Liara insisted, glaring at Aethyta in particular. “However, I will be looking for more evidence regarding indoctrination. I think Shepard will be as well. She does not like the idea of Saren forcefully gaining followers through mind control.”

“That's something at least,” Aethyta snorted.

Liara frowned. “Shepard is not nearly as bad as you think she is.”

“Liara, you're kinda biased what with the girlfriend thing. I'll believe Shepard's supposed nobility when I get some damn results,” Aethyta groused.

Benezia sighed and supposed it wouldn't hurt to take Liara's side in this argument. Somehow, it didn't surprise her _at all_ that Aethyta would have been far more over protective over Liara courting others than Benezia herself was. “She was surprisingly kind to me when I broke through Saren's control.”

“I _thought_ we agreed we didn't like Shepard,” Aethyta glared at her. Well, if she didn't like that Benezia was undermining her position on Shepard, then she was in the perfect position to understand Benezia's frustration over her making decisions on Liara's safety without her.

“I am not certain what to think of her,” Benezia admitted. That was certainly true enough. She wasn't actually disagreeing with Aethyta out of spite. That was merely an unintended benefit. “She's very odd compared to most humans I have met. They are normally ambitious, impatient and rash. Perhaps she still does share these traits, or perhaps I have not met proper humans. Regardless, I see no benefit in willfully ignoring the more positive aspects to her person. She is, after all, the human you have apparently entrusted our daughter to.”

“Very diplomatic of you,” Aethyta shook her head. “If that's your way of saying your gut thinks Shepard isn't a complete bastard, then fine. I'll agree on that.”

“I _suppose_ it is nice to know neither of you believe Shepard is a monster,” Liara quipped sarcastically.

Aethyta's eyes widened in clear amusement. “Nezzy, I didn't think the kid knew how to use sarcasm.”

“She does not use it often,” Benezia informed her, chuckling at the long suffering face that Liara was making. Undoubtedly, she was not at all used to her parents ganging up on her. It wasn't as if Benezia had made any concerted effort to tease Liara before Aethyta had returned to their lives.

“Please,” Liara interrupted. “Despite this rather embarrassing conversation, it _is_ nice to see you feeling better, Mother. But I really do need to go.”

“Alright, alright,” Aethyta raised her hands in surrender, finally giving their poor daughter a break. “Yeah, the kid's right. Good to see that this shit isn't always going to be terrible. You call up to let me know you're feeling the bastard again.”

“Of course. _Please_ , be careful, Liara.”

She couldn't keep the concern from her voice, even if she had wanted to do.

“I will be fine, Mother,” Liara told her confidently, giving her a weak grin.

Benezia did not know if she could believe her, but they were on the lift all too soon. Perhaps it was just as well. Liara need not know that they had again inadvertently forgotten to not speak in a language the guards could understand. Both appeared uncomfortable enough on her behalf.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have a tumblr that I use to fool around and talk about my works. Motivations behind scenes, what I think about characters, sometimes even short stories that take place in the universes that I'm writing in, but don't fit in the works themselves. (However, I'm having to wait to do that with Saving Nezzy. I've got more than a few fluff pieces stuck in my head that hinge around spoilers for the sequel. Which is too bad that I have to wait, really. One of them is based upon the idea that Benezia makes an entirely different choice and doesn't leave Aethyta. Can you imagine that ridiculously adorable fluff that could have taken place between her and Liara this way? God.... I hate waiting.)
> 
> Anyway, I'm hanging out at blueraith.tumblr.com if you're interested.


	16. Chapter 16

Aethyta had never seen the Normandy so active. It was nice to see the humans actually get busy about something. She wasn't lying when she told the kid she was waiting for Shepard to produce some actual results. She didn't give a damn about what she had done before Aethyta had gained passage on the frigate, she just wanted them to hurry the hell up to find some damn evidence _now_.

She found the human commander in the small hangar going through equipment lockers. The turian, krogan and bitchy human were with her.

“Shepard!” Aethyta barked forcefully. “What's the plan you have going?”

Aethyta was forced to admit that she didn't like being left out of the damn loop. She had tried to ask Liara what was going on after she got back from the 'not-orgy', but the kid was being stubborn again. Though, good news was it didn't seem she was doing it just to spite her. No, she was just being fucking annoying with her loyalty to her girlfriend and claiming she didn't have the proper _authorization_ , whatever the hell that meant. She was a civilian for Goddess sake.

Shepard looked at her in appraisal. Aethyta knew that the human didn't trust her very well. Which meant Shepard was finally getting smart. She was probably scared she would run off with Nezzy at first opportunity, which wasn't wrong. She wasn't stupid enough to think that anyone other than herself and Liara cared enough about Nezzy to do what was actually best for her.

“We're investigating a salarian STG operation. They went dark and the Council wants me to investigate,” Shepard finally said

“That's bullshit,” Aethyta scoffed angrily. Dammit, this was just what she'd been talking about. Shepard wasn't doing shit for Nezzy, after all. And the kid thought she was actually trying to do something. Ha. “You're supposed to be going after Saren, not babysitting the damn STG. Fuckers are tougher than they look anyway.”

The other human, Williams, she remembered Liara calling her, tried to take a step forward threateningly. Sadly, Shepard stopped her from doing anything. Aethyta would have loved to give her a good headbutt. She needed one.

“The Council sent the team to investigate Saren, but they dropped out of contact. We're going to see what happened to them,” Shepard explained more clearly.

Well, why didn't she just say that in the first place? Shepard definitely had reason to be suspicious of Aethyta, she could admit that, but all this would go a lot more smoothly if she kept Aethyta fucking involved. Shit, Shepard may just even manage to distract her from coming up with an escape plot if she kept Aethyta busy. Idiot.

“Hmph. I'm going down,” Aethyta told her matter-of-factly.

“Commander,” Williams protested quickly and easily, “I don't think that's a good idea. Can we even trust her not to sabotage the mission?”

“It wasn't an idea, Williams,” Aethyta growled. If this punk thought she was going to order Aethyta around, she had another fucking thing coming. Dammit, she would be _damned_ before she let a group of kids tell her what she was going to fucking do with her own Goddess-damned bondmate. “I was telling Shepard what I'm _going_ to do. I don't give a shit about Saren. I don't even think I believe in the Reapers. All I want to do is find evidence on indoctrination. So far, this looks like the first mission you're going on that could get me something. Do whatever the hell you want, but I'm going to make sure we get some information on this crap if there is any. Shepard might not have time to look right.”

Shepard frowned sternly, all military in that moment. “I can't have a rogue civilian in my operation, Aethyta.”

Sometimes she wondered if she was a little too good at her bartending cover. Damn young people always thought she couldn't handle her own. Or get the rest of them killed. Fuck, she'd been fighting and killing longer than probably all of these kids' ages put together. Sure, she didn't enjoy the killing part, but fighting? Fighting was something she was _good_ at.

“Shepard. I'm a thousand years old. You don't think I know shit about fighting? Fuck, I've had plenty of time to learn how to kill somebody. You recruited the kid, for Athame's sake, and she's a damn archeologist. I've got centuries of spying and fighting under my belt,” Aethyta groused irritably. Goddess damn her before she'd let Shepard somehow think that the kid was a better fighter than she was. Sure, Aethyta would be damned proud if that day ever actually came, but right now? It would be a _sad_ state of affairs if an archeologist could outpace her. She wasn't _that_ old, after all.

“Liara also knows how to take orders in the field,” Shepard pointed out with a raised brow. “I don't think you're used to that.”

“I'm talking about going solo. Something I also damn well know how to do. Like I said, you and your squad can do whatever the fuck you want since you're going after Saren. _I'm_ going to be looking around to see if I can find any data terminals worth anything. Besides, if it does make you feel better, I do know how to work with a squad. I was an Eclipse merc in my maiden days,” she said with a snort. Yeah, that was a long-ass time ago, but squad work wasn't exactly something somebody forgot how to do. It was like riding a skycycle.

“I will _think_ about it once I see what the situation is from the STG. If it looks like you could recover something _then_ I'll consider it.” Shepard wasn't going to budge, Aethyta could tell. Damn human was _almost_ as stubborn as she was.

She had to snort at that. The human didn't seem to realize that she was damn well going to do as she pleased on this. Aethyta was going to take no chances at missing out on anything she could recover for the dumbass Matriarchy. Athame only knew that those fucks needed all the help they could get when it came to making the _right_ decisions. Aethyta wasn't about to let some random human get in the way of that. There was too much riding on this to allow Shepard to stand in her way.

“I mean it, Aethyta. I'll put you in the brig with Benezia if I have to. I'd like to accept your help, but only if you're willing to _work_ with me. Meaning that you'll listen when I tell you to pull out, whether you find something or not. Or following my orders in general. I won't put someone out in the field that might get my people killed because she's too proud to listen to common sense,” Shepard glared at her at that thought. Fuck, it wasn't like she was going to put a damned bullet in the back of one of her ground team members. Or do something so stupid she'd get them all killed. Fucking kids thinking they knew everything about the damned galaxy.

Damn idiot humans were almost as stubborn as the krogan. Not that she'd ever tell them that. They had a quad on them too. Weren't too many humans that would stand up to Aethyta when she said she was going to do something, fuck what they wanted. If things were different, she'd probably approve of Shepard for the kid. She was at least someone that could balance her shy, non-confrontational daughter out. Hopefully a few things would rub off on Liara. Now though, Shepard was being damned annoying. Didn't she tell the human what she wanted out of this arrangement when Shepard let her stay on the Normandy?

“Shepard, you're pissing me off,” Aethyta warned darkly.

The human wasn't perturbed, though. Shit, in _any_ other circumstances, Aethyta would be impressed at her balls. “What's it going to be, Aethyta? Are you going to actually work together with me on this? Believe it or not, I actually do care about indoctrination and proving Benezia's innocence. If I can use you to find some data on it, I'd really like to. But, like I said, I can't put you out in the field if I think you'll be a danger to the mission or the people under my command.”

“I'm not going to be happy if we got nothing after all this is over. I mean it, if you make me have to take Nezzy and go on the run, I'm going to kick your ass. I'm not going to do anything that'll get any of your people killed, Shepard. I'm not a fucking sociopath. Besides, you do have the kid on your side, remember? I'm not going to do anything that would hurt her. That'd defeat the whole damn purpose of even showing back up in Nezzy's life,” Aethyta shook her head. Why even come back if she was just going to lose Liara in the process? Yeah, Nezzy was somebody that she'd _always_ throw everything on the line for. Despite Aethyta's common sense. However, she knew who was really her first priority. If anything ever happened to the kid, she'd lose Nezzy anyway. Fuck, and it would probably break her too. The one kid she never got to know, getting her fool self killed because Aethyta hadn't been smart enough to watch Liara's back for her when she was too stubborn to do it for her own good.

But that wasn't going to happen. Aethyta  _was_ going to walk away from this with  _everything_ she wanted. No matter what it took.

“I'm not going to make any promises. I don't know what we're heading into,” Shepard warned.

“Yeah, yeah,” Aethyta sighed angrily. She didn't care what the fuck Shepard said. It would be easier if the human simply did what Aethyta wanted her to do, but Aethyta was prepared to burn some bridges if that was what it took to get something actually fucking done. “Just make sure you get me on planet if you really care about this shit. You like to talk a lot, Shepard, but I want to see some results.”

She was done with Shepard, they had nothing else to talk about. Now all that was left was to pass the time until they got to Virmire. Truth be told, she would have liked to talk to Nezzy again. Wasn't like she had much to do in that cell. Too bad the humans were too busy to escort her and the kid was avoiding her mother for whatever reason. The two got on well enough, but things were a little rough between them, and Aethyta doubted it was all because of recent events. From what she knew based on her reports her people had on the two, Liara hadn't been home much in the past several years. She was usually off on her digs or back at university. It wasn't too unusual for maidens to go off to whatever hellhole got their attention for a few years. What was weird though, is that she didn't have any records of Liara at least vidcalling home or Nezzy making the effort for her.

Nezzy was helping the kid fund her digs in part, though. Aethyta would think that would mean that Nezzy wasn't upset with Liara if she was willing to shell out credits on ventures she probably thought were stupid. Then again, she figured she got a glimpse of what the two probably constantly argued about back in the brig: Liara's archeology career and Nezzy wanting the kid to go into politics. Something Aethyta had to admit she wanted Liara as far from as possible. Kid was too soft-hearted for it, and she had no idea why Nezzy couldn't see the damn writing on the wall. If anyone knew how cutthroat and vicious the Matriarchs could be behind closed doors, it would be Nezzy for fuck's sake. Liara was way too timid and idealistic for that brand of bullshit.

And a part of her didn't want the kid to go through the same shit she had. Fuck, nobody deserved that, especially Liara. She was a good kid, despite her determination to get herself killed. Aethyta supposed that came with the territory when raising kids Liara's age.

It was something to work on at least. She doubted it would be easy to get them both to stop being idiots. Liara and Nezzy both proved to be as stubborn as she was, which was a damn feat. Instead, it was probably going to be easier to figure out why the kid had a turnaround about Aethyta herself while they were all talking. That shit came out of nowhere, not that Aethyta couldn't appreciate it. She thought Liara practically hated her, not that she didn't have a good reason, admittedly. Aethyta was well aware how annoying she could be. She used it to full effect to get her shit taken care of and that had meant trying to force the kid to go home. Only that proved to be way harder than she or Nezzy had thought. The kid may not know how to talk to people worth shit—and, really, why did Nezzy think she was cut out for a job that had nothing in the damned job description besides talking with people? Despite that, it seemed Liara actually could stand up for herself when she really wanted to. Thank the Goddess for small miracles.

Speaking of which, might as well take advantage of the fact that Liara was really bad at conversation to make her spill. Aethyta imagined it was damned easy to tell when the kid was up to something when she was younger. Just one look from Nezzy was probably enough. Poor kid.

* * *

Was it ironic that Liara found herself on a mission that was taking her to archeological sites her professors would have died for, purely by chance? They had, after all, scorned her theories on the Protheans and told her to revise them, else chance she would never get grants from the university. Yet, somehow she was now on an Alliance frigate recovering Prothean data discs and even Matriarch Dilinaga's writings. Really, the Matriarch's writings weren't something she was particularly interested in; however, Liara still found herself contentedly decrypting them simply because she knew there were others among her colleagues that would have done anything for the same opportunity. Others that failed to take her seriously at every opportunity.

Her tranquility was shattered as a very specific, gravely voice sounded from just above her left shoulder. “Ugh. Your mom loved reading about Dilinaga's ramblings for whatever reason. Guess you can lord over her that your job gave her something she actually cares about. Trust me, kid. Take the opportunity, you might not get another chance to prove her wrong.”

Liara had started so badly that she nearly fell from her chair. How on Thessia had Aethyta managed to get so close to her?! “Aethyta! Goddess, why do you have to barge in here?”

Aethyta shrugged with a barely suppressed grin. “You were the one spacing at your terminal, kid. Not my fault you didn't hear the door swoosh open.”

Liara supposed Aethyta had a point in that she did have a tendency to get too absorbed in her work. Though, that did not excuse the Matriarch from constantly barging into her quarters without invitation. Liara did not think that Aethyta would care about that, if she bothered to point it out, however.

“Is there something you wanted?” Liara prompted. Aethyta didn't seem like the type to come harass her for simple small talk.

“Nothing much,” her father said almost daintily. “Just wanted to talk.”

She wondered if there was an ulterior motive behind Aethyta's words. Liara did not think her father was one for idle conversation, and besides that the Matriarch was just here pestering her about what the _meeting_ she had attended entailed. Something she wasn't sure if she should freely speak of without Shepard's approval. Aethyta had not been happy, but Liara knew telling her that this was Shepard's mission, not theirs, would fail to sway her.

“Did you already speak to Shepard?” She better ask directly instead of assuming Aethyta did so. Her father was just manipulative enough to try to fool her into giving away something she probably shouldn't.

Aethyta rolled her eyes. “Hmph. Yeah. Liara, I might have to kick your girlfriend's ass by the time we're through. Just telling you now.”

Liara didn't even realize she was emulating her father's exasperation until she had already felt her eyes make the same exact motion Aethyta's had. She didn't know if that was a good thing. “I take it your talk did not go as you planned, then?”

How did Shepard do it? Stand up to one of the most stubborn Matriarchs Liara had ever heard of and get her to actually do as the commander wanted rather than the other way around? Liara knew the commander was charismatic, but so far she was proving to rival her mother in this regard which was nothing short of amazing.

“Let's not talk about your girlfriend, kid. I know the relationship is new and all, but how about we talk about something else?” Aethyta's eyes suddenly narrowed in a suspicion that had Liara concerned. She wasn't certain she was going to like where this conversation was to go. “Like why you're being nicer to me all of a sudden.”

“I am not sure what you're talking about,” Liara said quickly. Too quickly, she knew. This wasn't a talk she ready for, not really sure where it was going to take them. She just knew that where ever it was, it wasn't going to be comfortable.

“Please kid,” Aethyta chuckled. “I know how to spot a lie when I see one and you were lying back when we were talking to Nezzy.”

“Would you like it better if I treated you exactly the same way after I learned the truth from Mother?” Liara asked a bit sharper than she intended. She couldn't help it. Aethyta was once again forcing her way into an issue Liara wasn't particularly ready to face.

“That's not the same as completely taking my side in our little family discussion. If I didn't know better,” Aethyta drawled with barely hidden amusement, “I'd say you actually _like_ me.”

Goddess, Liara did not know why Aethyta had to be so... so difficult all the time. Is this how her mother cultivated her seemingly endless patience? Previously Liara had thought that was something that simply came with time, but perhaps not.

She sighed heavily, knowing that she was going to be in for a long, exasperating talk.“I do not dislike you, Aethyta. You must know that you have been causing me a great deal of stress over this past week.”

“Sure, sure. But, you did practically admit that you would have liked to have me in your life,” her father pointed out, annoyingly accurately.

“Mother did not hide that you were an asari, it was something that I naturally thought about when I was growing up. I don't think it's something too out of the ordinary,” she really hated the defensive edge to her voice. Liara did not want Aethyta knowing just how much the issue had bothered her as she had grown up.

“Yeah, but you know as well as I do that most of our people eventually end up raising daughters by themselves. It's not too typical to have asari raise a daughter together, even if they used a donor. So, you must have liked something about me to bring it up back there.”

Liara rubbed her temples. “You are not going to leave me alone unless I give you the real answer are you?”

Aethyta wasn't even bothering to hide her grin now. “Nope.”

Positively infuriating. Liara wondered how someone as hard headed this could have let Benezia leave her so easily. For that was the crux of the matter, she supposed. It was something she had always wondered. Whether her unknown father had even cared about her and Benezia. Her mother had certainly seemed upset enough for Liara to jump to what had turned out to be the wrong conclusions.

“Mother did not like to talk about you,” she suddenly blurted out.

“Yeah,” Aethyta's grin seemed to disappear from existence at Liara's words, “that doesn't surprise me too much.”

Perhaps not, but if Liara was reading her right, the fact did seem to sadden Aethyta.

“She did not tell me anything beyond that you were another asari,” Liara continued, unable to stop now that Aethyta had forced herself into this particular issue. “Though I doubt she had much of a choice in that regard. Had she not told me, I would have been left wondering why others did not seem to like my company. As I said, no one has ever confronted me on my pureblood status, but that did not stop some from ostracizing me anyway.”

Aethyta's frown seemed to grow more severe the more she spoke. Liara did not know what she could possibly be upset with now.

“Liara, you're going to have to get to the point. I hate hearing about that _shit_ , it pisses me off. Doesn't make any fucking sense. Bunch of stupid fools.”

Liara was confused. Aethyta apparently hated the pureblood stigma, as Liara had long since suspected, but not in the manner she would have guessed.

“But, that is perhaps one of the greatest reasons why I was not happy when you appeared. I have always wanted to know who you were, but I guess getting what I wanted finally caused some of my doubts to come out. I did not know that I would be so difficult, Aethyta. I can't say I'm particularly happy about how I have been acting,” Liara grimaced at the thought. Her mother had probably been right to chastise her in the brig. She had been needlessly hostile with Aethyta. “Though I still will not allow you to dictate my life, or Mother for that matter.”

“Relax. I'm not about to force you into a job you don't want or anything. I just don't like the idea of you getting shot at while hanging around a Spectre. They don't live long, you know,” Aethyta reminded her. Again.

“Yes, you have made that abundantly clear. I will still take my chances, as Shepard would say. At any rate,” Liara hesitated for a moment, but decided to come out with what she wanted to say anyway, “I have wondered whether my being a pureblood caused you embarrassment and you chose to stay away. I think it caused me to feel more resentment towards you than I thought.”

Aethyta's jaw hardened, and when she spoke, Liara could easily hear the bitterness behind her words. “See, this is why I forced Nezzy to talk about that shit down there. _Damn_ her secrets. No fucking reason not to tell you even the short version of the story for Goddess's sake. She of all people know that I have never given a fuck about that crap. Don't let us fool you, kid. The asari can be and are just as stupid as the other species in the galaxy. We talk a big talk, but at the end of the day, we still have a damned foolish hangup about having kids with each other.

“Nezzy and I, we never cared about that. I don't think she was really telling us the truth back there, kid. We talked about this. What we would do if the pureblood crap came up. I told her I'd knock anyone on their ass if they dared say anything about you. She might tell you different, but she practically said the same thing. Granted, she'd probably do it with words, but the thought's still there. I know it probably hurt you in ways we didn't count on, but still. We prepared for this shit. _That's_ why no one has ever said anything to you. Nezzy damn well threw all the weight behind the T'Soni name in support of asari bonding. Our own damn bonding wasn't a secret. We let the Matriarchy and the damn Forum think whatever the fuck they wanted when we did it and no one said _shit_ to me about it. Figures people would be too fucking scared to take me or your mother on and went after you instead. Goddess- _fucking_ cowards,” Aethyta hissed furiously.

Liara would have never guessed she'd get this many answers. She'd tried to get Benezia to speak of her father or her bonding, but her mother had never humored her much. To think all she had to do was ask Aethyta, who had a tendency to over share and spoke her mind freely. Which was not to say that she did not appreciate what her father was telling her. Not only had she completely misjudged Aethyta all this time, but now she was beginning to suspect that there seemed to be more to the end of her parents' bonding than she or Aethyta had been lead to believe. She doubted that the Matriarch was unaware that her mother had a talent to mislead others when she wanted to. Certainly Benezia had never spoken ill of pureblood asari and would not typically allow Liara to refer to herself as such in her presence. It was something that had always puzzled her. Why did her mother have a daughter with another asari if that mattered to either her or her mysterious bondmate?

She suspected that it did not.

“I am sorry that I thought so poorly of you,” Liara said finally. She found that she was happy that she had been wrong.

“Not your fault, kid. Fuck, there's no way you could have known, I know how Nezzy is,” Aethyta said lowly.

“Are you angry with her?” Liara didn't particularly know why she had asked this question. It was rather obvious that Aethyta was upset with Benezia. However, Liara wanted to know more of what lay behind that anger. Goddess, she was finally getting so much more information than what little Benezia had deigned to give her over the years. Liara wanted even more, if she could get it.

“What? _Yeah_ , kid,” Aethyta exclaimed in disbelief that Liara could even ask her such a question. Perhaps it was indeed too obvious an inquiry. “I'm sure as hell not happy with her, are you?”

“Well, no,” Liara had no trouble admitting this. She did not understand why Benezia had not simply told her what she had in the brig when she had first asked her those questions when she was younger. It would have made _so many_ issues easier to deal with. However, the thought of continually confronting her undoubtedly exhausted mother over this made her hesitate in her anger. “But I do not think it would be healthy for her to deal with this while she is fighting the indoctrination.”

“Liara, you don't have to be so nice all the time. Trust me, sometimes it's better to get angry with people and then tell them about it. This isn't exactly new for your me and your mother. I'm not saying we didn't know how to happy together, because take it from me, we could _really_ get along,” Aethyta said with a sudden salacious grin that Liara was beginning to recognize. It only came out when Aethyta had the utterly bizarre desire to act completely inappropriately.

“You're doing that on purpose,” Liara accused her irritably.

“And not just with sex,” Aethyta continued, completely ignoring her accusation, “we also knew how to get along, you know, domestically and all that. Just in case you were wondering. That said, I'm not going to let her off that easy. Believe me, I know what's going on her head and it's not pretty, but she's still healthy enough to deal with some justified anger.

“Kid,” her father sobered suddenly and Liara tried not to be disoriented by the quick change in tone, “I don't know if you've thought about it, but your mom might not make it out of this. I'm going to try my damn best to make sure she does, and that's nothing to sneeze at, but this isn't something I've ever heard of, and I doubt anyone else has either. I don't think Nezzy has given enough thought on this. I mean, I guess it's not easy to think about dying, but shit, she's going to have to because I don't know what she thinks is going to happen if she doesn't make it and you're left with way more questions than you deserve to and, hell, me too.”

Aethyta had a point. Admittedly, Liara did not give much thought on Benezia actually dying even when she first joined Shepard. How could she? Her mother was already a Matriarch and by all natural estimates on asari she had at least a couple more centuries to live, not to mention that her family was very wealthy which gave them access to better medical care and allowed them to live far more healthy than most others. Beyond that, Liara knew that death was not something she contemplated often. Her people were so long lived, she had never lost someone that she knew to death, and what daughter really thinks about such things of her mother? Certainly not one her age, but she guessed that had she been a century or two older, this would be something that would occur to her.

“I don't think I have been very fair to her,” Liara admitted uneasily after several moments. What if Benezia died? She and Liara had not spoken in such a long time, over something that was probably far more silly than either of them wanted to admit.

“How so?” Aethyta asked curiously. There was something odd in her voice that Liara could not place, “I thought we were talking about how she's being unfair to us.”

“Well, yes she is, but all this time since we have brought her into custody, I have been avoiding her because I have been angry with her,” Liara admitted shamefully. Goddess, why couldn't she set aside her stupid pride and focus on what truly mattered? “I do not even know if we will find anything to prove her innocence; it's very possible that Mother might be executed for her crimes and I am thinking about the argument we have been in for the last several years.”

“Well, that's one of you at least,” Aethyta grumbled under her breath, probably not realizing that Liara could hear her perfectly fine in such close proximity. “Damn, that was easier than I thought it would be.”

“What are you talking about?” Liara asked suspiciously, wondering if Aethyta had been leading her to a specific conclusion this entire time.

“This little grudge you two have going. It's been bothering me. I was going to try to help you fix it and I thought it was going to be way harder to convince you both that you were being idiots and to realize what's _actually_ fucking important,” Aethyta scolded.

Liara was surprised.

“I didn't think you noticed.”

Were they that obvious? Most others—aside from Benezia, herself, and her mother's most trusted commandos—knew nothing of any disagreement between the two. Her mother was very careful to keep up appearances and Liara knew that she also did not want her personal business known to those outside her household. That was perhaps the only reason Liara had kept her periodic visits to the T'Soni Estate. Typically at times when she knew that her mother was out on some sort of campaign or diplomatic mission.

“Please, kid,” Aethyta scoffed with obvious amusement. “Not only do I know how to read your mother, it wasn't exactly hard to miss you two sniping at each other over politics and archeology. I think I got it figured out. If it makes you feel any better, I don't think you're normally this easy to read. You and Nezzy are under a shit ton of stress right now. I think even the humans can figure out what's going on between you.”

“Humans?” Liara asked with a sinking feeling of dread. Was she about to figure out why the entire mess hall seemed to have a sudden interest in her private life?

Aethyta shrugged nonchalantly. “Yeah, the guards. We haven't been too quiet, you know.”

Liara's eyes widened. “Oh, Goddess. Why didn't you say anything? We didn't have to speak in common Thessian in front of them!”

“Thought you knew. Now that you mention it,” her father mused, “I did think it was weird you didn't seem to care. You kind of strike me as prudish, kid.”

“What? How does my wanting to keep my personal issues private make me prudish? Goddess, this is terrible. The crew probably knows everything now,” Liara resisted the urge to pace in her tiny room. Goddess only knew that with her luck she'd manage to trip on something in here.

Aethyta snorted. “Kid, you gotta learn how to stop caring what people think. Trust me, shit like this doesn't matter once you get to my age. Most people are idiots and what they think is probably crap. Unless you think this will get back to Shepard. In that case, I still think you need to relax. She's seen me and Nezzy get into it plenty now. She knows what she's getting into if that's what you're worried about.”

Liara's eyes snapped to her father's in a sudden glare. It was unfortunate that they weren't with Benezia right now. She really needed to have a talk with _both_ her parents about not being as utterly mortifying as they were currently behaving. Goddess, why did she even have the need to scold _two_ asari _Matriarchs_ on their behavior? “Yes, I am aware you and Mother seem intent on arguing like children in front of her. I can understand you acting this way, but Mother? She's usually far more controlled than this and far better at not embarrassing the both of us.”

Aethtya laughed. “I know it seems your mom has always been cool and collected, but that's something she learned. Heh, she knows how to let loose. Plus, Nezzy always seems to relax when I'm around. Don't know what it is. Can't be the sex. Athame knows we haven't done that in a while. Unless she's remembering all the times I really let loose on her. Kid, let me tell you, we were _great_ together. Really knew how to read each other and knew when to get wild. Best sex I've had in my life was with Nezzy.”

“ _Stop it._ ”

Why was Aethyta so bent on telling her more than she wanted to know? While it was nice to find out that they had been happy together for a time, Liara _did not_ need to know just _how_ they made each other happy.

“And you think you're not prudish?” Aethyta was still laughing at her obvious discomfort. “Liara, we're asari, sex is something we aren't hung up on.”

“Mother has avoided telling me anything about this my entire life,” Liara said through gritted teeth.

“Eh,” her father waved her words off easily. “She's always been a little prudish too. But not as much as you. Not sure where you picked this up from, kid. Nezzy could at least tell me when she needed a good lay.”

Goddess.


	17. Chapter 17

Something wasn't right. Aethyta seemed even grumpier than usual, which Benezia knew was saying something. Her former bondmate could be... prickly on her best days, but she seemed upset more so than usual.

Better to address the subject now before Aethyta's temper had a chance to fester. "Is there something you want to speak to me about?"

Honestly, she wasn't sure why Aethyta was even here right now. She had yet to actually speak to Benezia and she'd been here for some time now. Pacing and grunting when Benezia had asked her how she was. She at least knew that Aethyta was apparently getting ready for something. She was back in her armor.

Aethyta huffed and finally spun to face her. "Shepard gave the okay for me to go down to Virmire. I'm going to be looking for some evidence on the shit that's been messing with you. Kid's going down too, but she's going with Shepard to investigate the turian."

Really? Benezia could feel her eyebrows rise. "I don't know why you would be upset about that. I would think that would be what you've been wanting."

"I'm not upset about  _that,_ " Aethyta clarified. "I'm upset that you're hiding something from me and Liara. We're not stupid, Nezzy, we both know you're not telling us something."

Ah, so it would seem her efforts to mislead Aethyta and Liara had failed. Benezia wasn't sure how she felt about that. On the one hand, she had known she could probably not have hoped to keep this secret with her forever. On the other, she had never intended for either of them to suspect anything was wrong. Aside from her failed bonding, that is. Benezia had hoped that Aethyta would believe that it was Benezia herself who had been the main cause behind their separation. Anything else could spell certain danger.

"I'm not sure what you're talking about," she said quickly. Too quickly and Benezia knew that her last ditch effort to hide the fact that she was keeping something had backfired spectacularly.

Aethyta scoffed loudly and angrily. "Cut the crap. We both know that if you were really concerned about hurting your career, you would never have bonded with me. My ideas were already causing shit to fly long before we split. Liara was a problem too. I'm sure you would have heard something about the pureblood shit even if she hadn't."

"I thought I could handle your effect on my platform. Unfortunately your opinions only caused more harm over time," Benezia stubbornly insisted.

"Yeah. Sure. Look, as pissed as I am at you right now, that's not why I'm down here. I would have dragged the kid down with me if I was, cause I think she could use a real explanation as much as I do. You get to keep your damned secrets just a little longer, but trust me, we're talking about this once we get the chance."

For someone who constantly claimed she was not talented at spotting that which wasn't said, Aethyta was surprisingly good at it. Though it wasn't exactly a surprise to Benezia. She had always known Aethyta could be far better at politics if only she was better at keeping her temper and presenting her ideas in a more logical manner. That which was obvious to them both wasn't always so to others. Liara, too, was talented at spotting patterns and missing information. This mission they were all dragged on was becoming more dangerous than she had anticipated. Benezia wasn't sure if she could keep the truth to herself for much longer. The real truth, not the fact that she was hiding something. But she would certainly try. She owed them both that much.

"Why are you here then? I would hope you are not wasting the lieutenant's time pacing in front of my cell," she said evenly.

Benezia was disappointed that Liara had not come down again. She was seeing far less of her daughter than she thought she would. Benezia wasn't sure why she had thought she'd be able to convince Liara to abandon her desire to aid Commander Shepard. She had been failing at convincing Little Wing to do anything as of late. Part of it she knew was her daughter's desire for more independence. It was only natural to rebel against her mother's wishes as she got older. Liara had certainly avoided doing anything Benezia didn't approve of when she was younger. Now though, Benezia was starting to wonder if she had taken her disapproval too far. Perhaps she was being too foolish to think Liara would abandon something she has always been enamored with on her word alone. It was that disapproval that had sown the seeds of the rebellion she and Aethyta were dealing with now. Perhaps if she had not been so hard on Liara before, her daughter would not be so set on putting herself in danger now.

"I want to know what exactly caused this whole shit to begin with. Gotta admit that I don't really know what to look for once I'm down there," Aethyta told her.

Benezia grimaced at the thought of having to recall that horrible time. She honestly would rather forget everything about her time with Saren. However, not only would that be an exercise in futility, it would also be a disrespect of all those she had doomed on her foolhardy mission. "Sovereign was responsible for the change. I am not sure if you will find anything that will explain the phenomenon outside of the ship itself. Though, I thought that I would find something on the ship to explain my acolytes increasingly odd behavior while I was on it. There was nothing."

"Yeah, but what the hell is that thing? A geth invention?"

"Shepard thought the same while on Noveria. The truth is that I am not sure what it is. Saren had already found it by the time I had joined him. He would not tell me where it came from or what it was," Benezia sighed. Saren had told her near nothing of his plans. She was a simple tool to him and nothing more.

"You've been working with the geth, Nezzy. I mean, does it look like anything they build?" Aethyta asked in frustrated confusion. Benezia could relate. It was so,  _so_ frustrating to see her acolytes and commandos change as much as they had, and have absolutely no answers of what was behind the change. No answers until Benezia had begun to succumb to the indoctrination herself, and by then, it had been far,  _far_ too late to help anyone. Including herself.

"I am... not certain," Benezia admitted with an exhausted huff. "The geth revered it, however. I believe that is why they followed Saren beyond learning that he wanted to help the Reapers return. The geth believe that the Reapers were gods."

"So you think these Reapers, that may not even be real, had something to do with the ship? Great. Looking for evidence that probably doesn't exist," Aethyta snapped as she crossed her arms.

Benezia couldn't help her wince. Aethyta did not believe the Reapers existed. She thought them a myth perpetuated by the geth and Saren. She obviously figured that Benezia believed in them because of the indoctrination, and Benezia would hope that was so; however, Shepard believed in them as well. Perhaps she should not put so much stock in that fact, but the human commander did not learn of them through the indoctrination, but through a Prothean beacon. Benezia was not particularly interested in the Protheans, but what were the odds of them putting information about the Reapers in their beacons for others to find? She did not think those odds spoke well of the chances.

"I am sorry that I cannot give you more. I was merely a pawn to Saren. He did not explain his reasoning or his plans to me in any detail," Benezia said morosely.

"Yeah, I know this shit wasn't your fault, Nezzy. I just wish this hadn't happened to begin with. Which is fucking useless, I know," Aethyta grounded out.

The lieutenant spoke up then, his voice as calm as always. "The commander has told us all to keep our eyes open, if that makes you feel any better, Matriarch."

"Aethyta. Sorry to say it doesn't really," Aethyta huffed. Lt. Alenko's voice was hardly going to calm Aethyta, she knew. Aethyta was near immune to such things, her bondmate was notoriously emotional. "I know you're all concerned about Saren. There's no guarantee that any of you will remember keep watch for any evidence."

"We're all concerned about this. If not for Matriarch Benezia's sake, then Dr. T'Soni's," the lieutenant insisted.

Benezia heard the snort Aethyta gave to Lieutenant Alenko's words. To be honest, she wasn't sure why a ship of humans would be concerned for her well being either. She had been responsible for the attack on Eden Prime along with Saren. In their eyes, as well her own, they had to believe she was a war criminal. Whether the cared about what her daughter thought or not.

"Yeah, and I'm guessing Williams is just  _jumping_  to help us out," Aethyta snapped back sarcastically.

Lt. Alenko frowned in concern. "Has she been giving you any problems? Commander Shepard or I can talk to her."

Her ex-bondmate only laughed at the very thought of Chief Williams bothering her. Benezia knew that Aethyta was never going to admit that anyone could even so much as hurt her feelings. She had no doubt that not a single human could cause Aethyta any desire to go to Commander Shepard for help. She didn't care nearly enough about what the humans thought of her for that to happen. "Alenko, trust me, one human giving me the stink eye across the mess hall isn't going to make me cry. Besides, she's the only one that seems to have any brains in her head."

"Chief Williams does care about family, Matriarch," the lieutenant insisted. "She cares about helping Dr. T'Soni more than she'll admit."

"How sweet of her," she laughed sardonically in response. "And it's Aethyta. Alenko, I've been alive too long to care about formal titles and shit."

Benezia rolled her eyes. She had never been successful at attempting to convince Aethyta that customs were important. Like it or not, becoming a Matriarch was critical for their culture and was a heavy responsibility at times. She certainly knew that. What she could never figure out was whether Aethyta really knew that. Yes, her former bondmate had made a valiant effort in getting her ideas into the Forum, but after she failed, Aethyta seemed much more happy in a bar of all things rather than returning to spying or doing something productive like writing. Though Benezia would not be overly surprised if her explosive ex-bondmate did not have the patience for writing.

"Thank you, Lieutenant," Benezia interrupted before Aethyta could move on to insulting the man, if not on purpose then certainly inadvertently, "for anything you can do to help us. We are appreciative of anything that you can do."

Better to try to interject before Aethyta could ruin any goodwill the man had towards them. She was constantly speaking of needing all the help she could get, but her former bondmate had a foolish habit of pushing people away with her crass attitude. Besides, Lieutenant Alenko seemed to be a good man, Benezia saw no reason to allow Aethyta to bully him overmuch.

"Yeah, yeah," Aethyta waved off with an eye roll, "I'll thank you when we actually get something, Alenko."

"That is all I can tell you, Aethyta. I am sure you and the lieutenant have much to prepare," Benezia reminded her. She certainly didn't think Aethyta needed to waste her time looking for evidence to exonerate her, but she didn't particularly want to encourage Aethyta's habits of instigating others.

"Yeah," she agreed, but then snapped suddenly. "Hey, Shepard was nice enough to give you a limited omni-tool. The kid put some Dilinaga's crap on it. I told her you seem to like her ramblings. I wanted her to give it to you herself. How many chances does she get to say 'I told you so,' about her job? She didn't seem too eager to do that though. Guess she feels bad about something. Wasn't too excited about talking to you again. Kid's really twitchy about talking to people she has problems with. Goddess knows you both have shit to go through," she snorted irritably.

Benezia was not certain what Aethyta was talking about. However, she was almost sure that Aethyta had caught on to her disagreement with Liara. Benezia knew that they could both read each other easily to begin with and it was typically easy to know what Liara was thinking. Unfortunately, her daughter had a tendency to reveal what she was feeling when she was upset. Something that she was going to need to learn to hide if she knew what was good for her.

"Yes, there is something I have been meaning to speak with her about," Benezia conceded. "Something that would be easier to achieve if I was not a danger to others in my present state."

"No, it would be easier if the kid came down here herself," Aethyta scoffed. More than likely believing that Liara was being far too timid. "I told you that you coddled her too much. I'm going to have to give her a good kick in the rear, Nezzy. Don't get how the kid doesn't flinch at fighting rachni, geth and whatever shit she comes across with Shepard but she's scared to come down here to talk to you."

Benezia couldn't help but chuckle at the thought. Maybe, if Aethyta had the opportunity to raise Liara with her, Liara would be more likely to respond well to such tactics. As it was, Liara was far more likely to push back against such measures. Especially given her new found confidence and temper. No, Benezia had long since tried to cure Liara of her shyness on her own, and her daughter had never responded well to such efforts. The girl was terribly timid when it came to dealing with people.

"Well, I wish you good luck with that. Despite what you believe, I have tried on multiple occasions to get Liara out of her shell. Unfortunately this appears to be a personality quirk of her own. Combined with her own brand of stubbornness and my efforts to teach her to be more sociable have been unsuccessful," Benezia said with a small measure of humor. Before this, and their argument, Liara had always been very agreeable to deal with. Eager to please her mother, no doubt, because Benezia had not always managed to find as much time as she should have for her daughter. Any time the two spent together during her busier political years were precious. Liara had  _never_ responded well to the speech classes, or sending her to camps, or even putting her in team sports. Oh, that last one had been a disaster. Liara was simply not coordinated enough for sports, and Benezia had lamented that she had probably made her poor daughter's social skills even worse during that particular year.

"Yeah, probably because you've been trying to groom her to jump right in with the fucking Matriarchy. Shit, Nezzy, you know ruthless they can get. The kid isn't stupid, she can probably pick up on that crap. I just want her to be able to actually talk to the people that matter. Kid's not made for politics, Nezzy. Why are you so focused on it?" Aethyta asked insistently and with an odd emotional determination.

Benezia did not know why Aethyta was so insistent that Liara not even try politics. Certainly, her bondmate had been run out of the Forum, however that was more due to Benezia's efforts than anything else. Goddess, Benezia had ruthlessly shut down Aethyta's political career, but before that particular incident she had not done badly. If only she would separate her own bad experiences and look at this issue logically. Liara had the talents, all she needed now was the attitude.

"Why do you believe she cannot succeed? Liara is certainly intelligent enough to navigate her way through politics if she would only focus her attention on what is happening now or what is going to happen in the future instead of the past," Benezia insisted herself. Goddess, if only the Protheans would fade from her mind, if only she would grow out of her childish fascination.

"I know the kid is smart. I told you that any kid of yours would be brilliant. And she  _is_ , Nezzy. Yeah, I don't get the Prothean thing, but it's what she wants to do and she's pretty damn good at it. She's not good at politics and she knows it. You promised me she'd be able to do what she wanted to do with her life. Everyone deserves that, Liara most of all. She's too damn bright to be stuffed into a job that she's going to  _hate_ for the rest of her damn life. You  _promised_ that you let her follow her own path. You're doing a pretty half-assed job at that," Aethyta snapped angrily.

"That is an easy thing to say. It is not so easy while I watch as my only daughter seems to be wasting her potential to be something far greater than she is right now," Benezia shot back. Far greater than an underappreciated archaeologist. Scorned at every turn for her theories and any evidence she uncovered. Why Liara insisted on staying with a field that did not appreciate her intelligence in any way was beyond her. Benezia could easily set the stage for her daughter. The early decades could be spent following Benezia's own platform, gaining reputation and connections with others before branching out on her own. By the time that happened, Liara should have enough of a solid base to break past any stigma that could possibly be held against her.

"And she's only a hundred and six, Nezzy!" Aethyta's shout shattering her idle planning. "Shit,  _what_  exactly are you expecting from her?"

"Are you to tell me that you have never expected more from your own daughters, Aethyta?" Benezia asked sharply. She knew that Aethyta had. She had never wanted for her daughters the hard life that she had lived as a maiden. Benezia knew of her bondmate's tragic background, and how much Aethyta hated it. She had made certain that her daughters would aspire to something far greater than Aethyta herself had ever dreamed of when she had been young. "You have always been of the mind that our people's daughters should be doing far more than dancing in bars or becoming mercenaries."

"And last time I checked getting a doctorate and becoming an archaeologist is definitely not dancing in a damn bar or getting shot at over drugs and crap," Aethyta threw her arms up in frustration. "Liara is doing far more with her life than I was doing at her age, so I'm pretty damn happy with her choices aside from the whole chasing a rogue Spectre across the galaxy with her girlfriend and shit."

"Girlfriend?" Lt. Alenko asked in surprised confusion.

"Alenko, not now. Nezzy, you need to think long and hard about what's actually important here. Namely surviving this crap so you can come to your damn senses about what would actually make the kid happy," her bondmate growled.

"And I suppose I should ignore that studying the Protheans is more dangerous than it appears on the surface. I am not begrudging her choice of study purely for my own desires, Aethyta," Benezia reminded her. It seemed that Aethyta had forgotten the fact that studying the Protheans could prove to be far more dangerous than it than it was first apparent. There were many in this galaxy that would do anything to keep the secrets of the extinct race in control of their own forces and motivations. "I happen to care about what makes our daughter happy." And what would make her  _happier_ would be gaining employment in a meaningful career that took her ideas and vast intelligence seriously. "Why do you think I cultivated her interest in them in the first place? Do you think Liara funded her own tuition or any digs the university would not sponsor?"

Aethyta had grown very still at her words, and Benezia knew that she had said too much. Goddess, Aethyta was never going to leave this be now. She did not respond well to threats in general, let alone towards anyone she cared about,  _especially_ her daughters. "What are you talking about? Has someone threatened the kid? Shit, why the fuck haven't you said anything?"

Benezia could never understand just what it was about Aethyta that always caused her to reveal more than she wanted to on just about anything. The last thing that Liara needed was for Aethyta to go on a war path about a  _very_  sensitive topic. She had been doing just fine preventing her daughter from stumbling on that which she shouldn't. Benezia had been trying very hard indeed to convince Liara to abandon her obsession of her own accord. It would be the safest course of action.

"It is nothing that you need to concern yourself with. I have it under control," Benezia said primly.

"Yeah, Nezzy. Just look at where your latest scheme has gotten you. You're not exactly in control of anything at the moment, least of all the kid. Do I have to knock some heads together for you?"

The very thought caused an old feeling of panic to stir in her chest. Goddess, that could  _easily_ spell disaster for Liara by drawing attention to her that she did not previously have. "Absolutely not. That is the last thing that would help Liara."

"'Help Liara?'" Aethyta repeated through a tightened jaw, her eyes narrowed in anger. "Just what exactly are you talking about, Nezzy? Fuck, you're talking like the kid's gonna get offed or something. Is this about the Matriarchy? What the hell have they been telling you? I mean it, spill or I'll get Aellis and the rest on call now and get to the bottom of this shit."

Yes, it certainly was irritating how she could not control herself as she normally would around her former bondmate. Something that Aethyta previously took advantage of at every opportunity while they were still together. An advantage that ultimately destroyed them. However, this was not about the more pleasant aspects of their bonding. Now she was going to have to give Aethyta some explanation or risk her doing something especially rash.

"No one has ever made any threats explicitly. Aethyta, you know the price for divulging any secrets that the Matriarchy considers of the utmost importance. I was very fortunate that they did not take any action against you the last time I let something slip and I am certain they are regretting that choice now with your recent actions. Liara's field of study is a risk that the others are aware of," she explained, pinching the bridge of her nose. Goddess, she could feel a headache coming on, one that had nothing to do with the ever present  _other_ in her mind.

"Wait a second, they didn't know that I knew about that, Nezzy. Tevos about had a stroke when I told her I knew," Aethyta said with a frown.

Benezia pursed her lips. If only they had not known, indeed. "The councilor is not always privy to what we know."

"Then that means that you told them I knew. Why the hell did you do that?" Aethyta demanded angrily.

"And risk that you may speak of it during a meet? Aethyta, I was  _never_  supposed to have let you know of it. I had to do damage control and convince the others that you could be trusted with the information and that you were not as impulsive as they thought. It was not an easy thing and I would not be surprised if they would not let me get away with it a second time. I know that they others are watching Liara and her career. Perhaps not too closely, but if they  _believe_  that I may have told her too much, then they will take action this time. Especially in the light of your blackmail." Benezia had to repress a shudder at the thought. No, there were those in the Forum who would not hesitate this time in protecting secrets they considered critical to the asari way of life.

"Nothing's ever fucking easy is it? So, the plan was to pester her until she gave up on the Protheans? Nezzy, that's a terrible plan," Aethyta huffed.

The lieutenant had been frowning as he watched their back and forth this entire time, but he seemed to find his voice now. "I'm starting to feel like I'm out of the loop on something. Is this something the commander needs to be let in on?"

_"No."_

"Mind your own fucking business, Alenko."

They had snapped at him in unison and Benezia tried not to feel guilty about it. The lieutenant thought he was trying to help, he did not realize that he would only harm Liara rather than help her if he said anything about this to anyone. Goddess, they needed to convince him to keep this topic to himself.

"It sounds to me like Dr. T'Soni is in some kind of trouble, I'd think she'd probably like to know about it," Alenko said with a raised brow. Goddess, that was the  _last_ thing Liara needed. Her daughter has been finding her stubborn and rebellious streak. Benezia certainly did not want her daughter knowing about this matter with those traits currently dominating her thinking at the moment. It would only be Benezia's continued misfortune if Liara ended up insisting that she needed to find the people watching her and dealing with them immediately. Oh, Benezia  _shuddered_ at the very idea.

"Figures you're here for the whole damn conversation but manage to ignore all the important bits. Human, I would think you would get that sometimes the government can be a fucking problem. Humans aren't exactly innocent in conspiracies and shit. The kid does not need to know about this, you hear me? She'd too fucking idealistic to see things like they really are," Aethyta was encroaching into the lieutenant's space and Benezia could not find the desire to reprimand her. They certainly agreed on this matter. Liara was not to know that she was being watched, even casually. "She'd probably think she could reason with the Matriarchy or worse, find out exactly why they're watching her. That would be a damn disaster."

"Well, at least we're able to agree on that," Benezia drawled.

Aethyta was rubbing her crest. "Shit. Liara was just freaking out that we're apparently unable to keep our business to ourselves."

"Yes, it seems you cause me to forget myself with your irritating behavior."

" _Me?"_ Aethyta exploded, and Benezia suddenly realized that this was to be an actual argument between them, rather than what had been a debate. Aethyta was glaring at her in a near rage, and Benezia had realized too late that this vague threat against Liara's wellbeing was too much for her. Her overprotective streak had been completely triggered and it was going to be quite the feat to convince Aethyta that no action needed to be taken. "What about you? Goddess, do you think it's easy having to deal with your damn secrets? They're a pain the ass. This shit wouldn't take me by surprise if you would let me know about it, Nezzy! Is it that hard to think that  _maybe_  you should let me on that the kid could have a damn target painted on her back?"

"She is not currently in danger, Aethyta," she tried to soothe with a gentle voice. No, it would be for the best to curb back her own irritation with Aethyta. There was no shame in being worried for their daughter and Benezia, in a way, admired it; however she needed to mitigate Aethyta's reaction now. "You and Lieutenant Alenko need to calm down. I am simply being careful. As you well know, our people are in the habit of making decisions years in advance. I have made this one  _just in case_  something should happen. It has not yet, and I still have time to change Liara's mind."

"Assuming that you can. Nezzy, we need to go after the problem directly. Hoping that the kid can read your damn mind is stupid. Why waste all that time if we can take care of the problem today?" Aethyta predictably asked.

"And you are assuming that some of the other Matriarchs are capable of being reasonable. You know as well as I do that there are those that will not see things as we do," Benezia said as certain faces flashed within her mind. They would be the same faces who had called Aethyta's trustworthiness into question those many years ago.

"Yeah, fucking Aellis. Give me a chance to fuck with her, Nezzy, I can do it," Aethyta said eagerly, fists clenching.

"You sound more eager to mess with her than you should be. Have you started something with her? What exactly did you say to the others when you blackmailed them on my behalf?"

Aethyta looked guilty at her questioning. Something that did nothing to put her at ease at all whatsoever.

"Aethyta, what have you done?"

"Look, I didn't say anything to the others about the kid. I might have hinted to Tevos that I  _might_  be willing to let Liara in on what we know, though," Aethyta said with a wince.

"You  _what?!_ "

This was a disaster. The councilor had no reason not to tell the others of what Aethyta had implied. After all, she had never told Tevos of what the other Matriarchs had told her a century ago. The others saw no reason to inform her either. This is exactly what they had feared, wasn't it? That Aethyta could not be trusted with the information and that she would be willing to divulge it to someone. And that someone might their idealistic, sheltered and innocent daughter. She could practically feel the blood drain from her face at the thought of the consequences.

However, the sight of Benezia's anger and horror seemed to spur on Aethyta's own temper, erasing her previous guilt. "This is what I  _fucking_  mean about all the damn secrets, Nezzy! How the hell am I supposed to know what I can and can't say if you don't throw me a damn hint at least?"

"I told you never to speak of it  _over one hundred years ago!"_ Benezia found herself shouting. When was the last time that had happened? "And now we must hope that the councilor has far more sense than you seem to possess!"

"Yeah, this is sounding more and more like something Commander Shepard should know," Lt. Alenko said firmly. "I know you both probably want to take care of this yourselves, but Shepard has Spectre status. She might be able to help."

Aethyta let out a large, angry breath. "The fucking Matriarchy doesn't give a shit about Spectres, Alenko. Especially when Tevos can and has let out a Spectre or two to deal with one that has gotten a little too nosy for their own good."

"We'll talk about it with her once we're done on Virmire," Alenko pressed. "Dr. T'Soni is part of our crew. Like it or not, we don't want anything to happen to her either."

Disaster was the only word for it. Involving any humans would only make things far worse. Benezia was not going to speak of this any further, whether Shepard or Aethyta wanted her to or not. Liara could not afford any more slips of the tongue.


End file.
